


Re-Routed

by DragonsandInk



Category: Cars (Movies)
Genre: AU, Don't be surprised by how awful he treats people/thinks of them, Eventual Sally/Lightning, Human AU, Humanized, I know nothing about racing or cars what am I doing, Lightning's a prick for the first few chapters, Movie writing, Select scenes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-03-28 23:52:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13914852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonsandInk/pseuds/DragonsandInk
Summary: Lightning McQueen was so close to being the first rookie to ever win the Piston Cup he could taste it.  The only issue being that he had one more race to win before he could hold it in his hands.  Now it was just the matter of getting to California in one piece before the end of the week.He never could have imagined ending up in Radiator Springs instead.-My take on scenes from the movie where the characters are humanized.





	1. Someone's Getting Fired

**Author's Note:**

> If I've skipped a scene you'd like to see me write out let me know and I'll add it in. I enjoy getting writing prompts and while I have a great deal of this already worked out it's no trouble for me to go back and add things in! With that said, I hope you enjoy!

Lightning woke up with a snort, his head snapping up for an instant before he laid it back down on the seat.  He groaned, trying to place what had woken him up in the middle of his nap.  Glancing out the window, he saw that the sky was still—no, wait, it was light.  He sat up, noticing first that the light was caused not by the sky, but by the lights of a gas station.  They weren’t sitting next to one of the gas pumps, but rather in a spot off to the side of the store.  The truck wasn’t even idle, completely turned off while its driver was MIA.

There was an immediate rush of irritation.  They had stopped?  Where was Mack?  He had promised to get them to California!  Lightning hadn’t said they could  _stop_ and get a midnight snack or whatever his driver had decided was so important!

He twisted into a sitting position, peering out of the tinted glass and into the store, looking for Mack.  There, in the back of the store, he saw Mack’s trademark cap in the bright red of Lightning’s signature color.  Stupid!  Probably getting a hotdog or something when he  _should_ be driving!  Lightning had half a mind to fire him if he didn’t get to the race track first.

In fact, he should tell Mack that.

He pulled on his jacket from where he’d been using it like a pillow, making sure the bolt on his arm was still shiny.  He couldn’t be looking any less than incredible if he happened to meet a fan, now could he?  Sliding out of the backseat of the truck, he looked about, wrinkling his nose in distaste at the dirty gas station in the middle of nowhere.  The asphalt was dirty and stained with oil, there was trash in the gutters, and the windows to the station looked like the last time they’d been cleaned was a year before  _never._

He didn’t bother to hide his expression as he walked into the station.  There wasn’t even automatic doors and the bell was a literal string of bells that jangled when he came in.

“Paying for gas or looking for the bathroom?” someone called from one of the aisles.  Lightning assumed whatever poor teenager had gotten stuck with the night shift.

“Just telling my friend to get his ass in gear,” he responded, pausing only for a moment before heading to the refrigerator section in the back.  Was Mack getting an iced coffee?  He’d said he was tired earlier, but geez, why didn’t they just drive through the nearest Starbucks?  What an absolute pain.  “Hey Mack!  You hear that?  We shouldn’t be stopping for anything less than—”

Lightning stopped at the end of the aisle as Not-Mack turned to him with an irritated expression.  The hat on his head was  _not_ Mack’s signature cap, but rather a Nebraska Huskers hat in a shade almost identical to his own.

The stared at each other for a moment before Lightning blurted, “You’re not Mack!”

The man’s irritation turned into a full-blown scowl.  “Of course I ain’t a Mack!  Git some derned glasses, ya idiot!”  With that, he stormed out of the aisle, making sure to bump Lightning’s shoulder before stomping to the front desk.

Wait, if that wasn’t Mack, then where was he?

He looked around but there was no one else in the store besides him, the angry hat guy, and the attendant who had hurried to the front counter when the hat guy called for him.  So what—

He looked out the front windows and felt his stomach drop as he watched his trailer drive away.

Lightning launched himself out of the store as fast as he could, heart thudding painfully in his chest as he tried to catch Mack on his feet.

“Mack!  Mack!” he shouted.  The truck stopped for a moment, waiting to turn and for a moment Lightning thought he’d be able to catch him and thud on the window and threaten Mack a thousand times over with his job for almost leaving him behind.

Then he was gone and Lightning was standing on the edge of the highway, unsure of what to do.  His hands scrambled with his pockets, searching for his phone.  He’d just call Mack!  Tell him to turn his ass around before Lightning decided to just…

He had left his phone in the truck.

For a moment, Lightning pulled at his hair, gritting his teeth and resisting the urge to scream at the sky.  What was even happening right now?!  Did he  _really_ just get left at a gas station like a child forgotten by their parents?  What was he supposed to do now?

The station!  Someone there would have a phone!

Lightning had raced back to the store, noticing only now that the bathroom sign was on the outside of the building, and burst back in through the door before he realized he didn’t know what Mack’s phone number was.  He was fuming in the front of the store, trying to figure out his next step when the shop attendant leaned around one of the aisle ends.  The attendant looked him up and down, Lightning striking quite the image with his bright red uniform nearly matching the color of his face.

“Can I help you?”

An idea struck.

“I need to borrow your car.”

The bored look on the attendant’s face changed to suspicion.  “What?”

“My driver just left me here so I need to borrow your car so that I can make it to California and win the Piston Cup.  I’ll have my driver bring your car back right away, but I _need_ to get to California _now.”_

“I need my car to go home!”

“You can walk!”

The attendant scowled.  “Sorry buddy, but you’re outta luck.”

“Fine!” Lightning snapped.  “Then I’ll just…” he tried to think of something and felt dread settle in him.  “I’ll just go hitchhike or something!”

He had spun around and was halfway out the door when he heard the put-upon groan behind him.  “Wait, dude, it’s the middle of the night, no one’s gonna pick you up.  Just wait around here for a couple hours.  There’s a bus that comes by and gets gas every night.  They’re always heading west so _maybe_ you can convince the driver to let you on.”

Lightning felt his heart leap.  It wasn’t the perfect solution, but it would have to do.  He could bus hop to California, no problem.  It wasn’t exactly something he’d done before but it was scores better than waiting around for Mack to realize what had happened or getting in a car with a stranger.  The gas station had snacks and energy drinks he could stock up on and then just ride out the way to California on a stinky bus full of stinky people that either couldn’t afford their own cars or weren’t smart enough to get a license.

“Yeah, I’ll do that.  What time do they usually get here at?”

The attendant checked the clock on the wall.  “Sometime after 3 AM.  You’ve got a couple hours.”

 

->'v'<-

 

What seemed like ages later but was really less than half an hour after he’d gotten on the bus, they pulled up to _another_ gas station.  Apparently when Lightning had dashed up and explained his situation to the driver she had been distracted enough to forget to fill the tank up with gas, which had prompted a somewhat emergency detour off the interstate to the closest station located on the GPS.  It was a bit of a drive down a windy, back-country road that had absolutely no landmarks whatsoever but they eventually came across a town with a gas station.

Buying that energy drink at the gas station had been a poor idea, as he’d had nothing to do but stew about his situation and bounce his leg irritably. Heading to Pheonix was out of the way from where he wanted to be and figuring out bus schedules as well as convincing whoever was working there at 6 AM to let him on without any kind of ID on him would be tough.  The very thought of sitting in a smelly station while he waited for a good bus to come through already made him want to take a shower.

After the driver got out Lightning also jumped out of his seat to get some air.  What he wanted to do was run a couple laps around town (which would probably take less than five minutes with how small it was.  There was only one stop light, geez) but he wasn’t about to have a repeat performance of getting left behind again.  Especially not in this tiny town where the nicest thing he was likely to find were jean jackets and cowboy boots.

Instead, he told the driver he’d be right back and went to go pace angrily by the road.  Even with the detour there was still the likelihood that he’d get to California before Chick.  Mack had made good time before Lightning had been left behind and they had already been about three quarters of the way across the country.  If Lightning just _didn’t sleep_ and was able to find a bus to get on straight away in Pheonix then he could make it.  And from there…what?  More buses?  He’d _walk_ to the racetrack if he had to.  But he really didn’t want to.

His pacing took him a couple of stores down, glancing back at the driver to see her cleaning off the windshield.  He had another minute to try and cool himself down.  The end of the street was just another block down, the T in the road leading up to what looked to be a court house for the town with a statue of a man in front, a stream of water bubbling at his feet and a gold tooth shining in the dim lamplight.

Next to the court house was what looked to be a community building.  It was a long building with a worn down brick wall, the red faded with age, facing the street.  There might have been a mural there at some point, but the sun had all but bleached it away.  The doors of the building led out to a patio, marked out by a large awning and a few wooden benches.  There were wooden buckets of flowers sitting in all manner of places, seeming out of the ordinary in a desert town.

Lightning rolled his eyes.  The whole place looked run down besides the flowers.  This town was so small and sad probably the only reason why it was still there was because its residents were too dumb to pack up and move out.  This place was just another bump on his road to success.

If he even _got_ there.  The longer they stalled in this little blip of a town the more anxious he felt.  For all he knew, Chick had the same idea that he had, driving without stop all the way to California and this little pause was what made the difference between getting Dinaco’s attention.  God, he could _not_ think about Chick spending _any_ time with Tex or Weathers.  The very thought of the three of them getting all chummy made him want to upchuck.

He spun on his heel.  The bus had to be filled up by now.  He couldn’t stand this stupid town for one minute longer.  Just to show the little country town his exact contempt for its existence, Lightning gave the street light he passed by a good solid kick.  It had the added benefit of making him feel a bit better about himself as well.

Until he heard groaning metal behind him and turned back around.  The light pole was either old and the bolts had rusted too much to withstand Lightning’s killer kick or was swooning from the little attention it had gotten from the sexy racer because it was tipping.  Then leaning.  Then _falling._ It was a rather stupendous fall as well.  Just as dramatic as the panicked flashing of the bulb as the wiring attempted to hold on.  But the bulb failed.  And at the same time, the pole smashed onto the community building.

If it had been in good condition, Lightning had no doubt that the pole would have caused some minor roof damage and bounced off to land on the pavement.  As it was, the wall was probably over fifty years old and had not been taken care of properly, leading to a rather spectacular crumbling of brick that left the inside of the center laid completely bare.  The sound of tumbling brick and shattering glass was loud enough that it’d probably woken everyone up in a few blocks radius.

Lightning stared at the damage he had inadvertently caused.  His night was just getting _better and better._

 


	2. In Chains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lightning is in jail and things are not looking up.

Opening his eyes, the first thing Lightning registered was a painful headache centered by a throbbing pain in his forehead.  He groaned, rolling over onto his side with a wince and moved to press his hand to the inevitable lump that was there.  His hands resisted.  The sound of clinking metal was harsh on his ears.

“Mornin’ sleepin’ beauty!”  


Lightning jumped, and subsequently almost fell off the cot he’d been laying on.  His eyes focused on the person who’d spoken to him…on the other side of a wall of bars.  Looking around in a panic, details came too slowly in his fuzzy brain.  Three solid grey walls and one with bars, a musty smell that seemed to come from the corners of the room, and the pair of cuffs on his wrists.

“Wha-What?!  What’s happening?  Why am I cuffed?!  Where am I?!” he was stuttering out, pulling at the cuffs uselessly and not bothering to attempt to calm himself down.

The man on the other side of the bars laughed heavily, snorts adorning the sound.  “Shoot, yer funny!  I like you!”

The weirdly calm statement helped Lightning to focus a bit.  The man was… _ugh._ He was a hefty, big-bellied guy, from daily, menial work and too much beer.  Thin, reddish brown hair poked out beneath a trucker cap that might have been a lighter color at one point but was now a dusty version of his hair color.  His shirt was some approximation of old white, with stains and wear showing without care, and a brown jacket tied over worn out jeans.  The guy looked old, dirty, poor, and maybe a little bit crazy.  Great.  All of Lightning’s favorite things.

“W-why am I here?  What happened?” he asked, not having settled down but sort of resigning himself to the fact that he was in a jail cell and that he wouldn’t be able to get out by himself.

The guy looked impressed.  “Yah don’t remember?  _Shoot!_ Ev’rybody’s talkin’ ‘bout it!  You done wrecked the whole street side wall a’ the community center last night!  Made a real derned mess, yeh did.  Woke a bunch’a people up and Sheriff was called down to take yeh in fer destruction of public property!  But’cha _ran_ and Sheriff went tah tackle yeh and yeh hit yer head on the curb and done knocked yerself out!”

Now that it was all being described to him, some of the details were coming back.  There was a brief moment of embarrassment as he recalled the panic he’d felt when he realized the cops were after him and made a run for it.  It was stupid, he knew, but he hadn’t meant to break anything on purpose and he didn’t have any kind of record on file so getting arrested in some tiny country town would _not_ be good for his image.  He had booked it back to the bus, but either the cop had already been awake and patrolling the town, or had woken up from the noise and lived nearby because Lightning had only made it two blocks before he’d been taken down.

He groaned.  _Great._ He didn’t have _time_ for this!  “Listen,” he said to the guy still watching him with amusement, “I don’t know where I am, I didn’t mean to break anything, and I really, _really_ have to get back on the road.  Can you help a pal out…uh…”

“Oh, sorry ‘bout that!  I should introduce mahself!” the guy said, perking up immediately when he realized what Lightning was having trouble with.  “Mah name is Mater!”

That didn’t sound like a real name.  “ _Mater?”_

“Yeh! Like _tuh-_ Mater, but wit’out the _Tuh!”_

Lightning watched the fleck of spit fly through the bars with mounting disgust.  “Uh, yeah, that’s _great_ tah-mater.  So could you—”

“Hey so what should I call you, buddy?”

Lightning started and scowled.  “You don’t know who I am?”  He glanced down and saw that, yes, he was still wearing his jacket.  It was a little ruffled from all the sleeping he’d been doing in it, but all the patches were still in place and the lightning bolt on his bicep still shone.

“Nah, I know who yeh are…Is yer name Mater too?”

He drew back.  “What?  _No!_ I’m Lightning McQueen!  I’m a racer!  I race in the Piston Cup!  Don’t you get _any_ news out here?!”

“Well we gots the radio and the newspaper.  But hey, it’s nice tah meetcha McQueen!”

Lightning held back another groan of annoyance.  “Yeah, nice, great to meet you too.  So now that we have that out of the way, howzabout you let me out of here?”

Mater seemed eager to do so for a moment before thinking better about it.  “Uh, sorry new buddy, but Sheriff says I’m not s’posed tah let you out.”

It was easy to hear the hesitance in his voice and Lightning immediately sought to exploit it.  “Aw, but you know, I showed up here in the night, didn’t get a good look around town.  It’s a _real shame,_ don’t you think?”

“Oh it surely is.  Hey, wait a minute!”  For a moment, Lightning thought he had been caught.  “How ‘bout I show you ‘round town?  I know all about Radiator Springs!”

Feeling his heart beat heavily in his ribcage, Lightning could almost taste freedom.  “That sounds like a great idea, Mater!”

“Well dag’un!  Wait right here buddy!”  Mater hurried away from Lightning’s view, presumably to get the key to unlock the cell.

“Can do,” he called back.  Okay, he was almost out of jail.  From there all he needed to do was…god, he wasn’t sure.  Walk back to the interstate?  How long would that take?  Hours, probably, but it was better than waiting around for someone to show up that he could beg to take him to California, or even Phoenix by now.  Yeah.  Make it to the interstate and thumb his way to Phoenix.  That was likely the best plan he was going to get by now.

He felt a little bad about leaving the town’s community center in disrepair, but once he was back in contact with civilization he’d send the town a nice, fat check and this all would blow over.  In fact, they’d feel _embarrassed_ by how they treated him when all was said and done.  He’d send them all a check and for Mater specifically: a big bar of soap.

He heard footsteps and a moment later Mater came back into view, looking sheepish.

“Hey, uh, where’s the keys?” Lightning asked, not seeing anything in the guy’s hands.

“Boy we ain’t as _dumb_ as you must think we look,” came a new voice as an older man stepped into view.  No, not new.  He knew that voice because it was the last one he remembered hearing before he’d been tackled to the curb last night.  The man was shorter than Mater but fairly stocky, salt and pepper hair buried beneath a police cap and a big, bushy mustache taking up the majority of his face.  Lightning glanced at the badge on the man’s shirt.

The _Sheriff._ He was really in for it now.

The man sniffed at him through the bars, a distinctly unimpressed look across his features.  “You’re due at the courthouse in half an hour, boy.  That gives you enough time to wash up and use your one phone call.  You know who you wanna call?”

Lightning scowled at the tops of his knees.  Way to rub it in.  “I don’t know anyone’s number.”

The Sheriff laughed.  “Stranded in the middle of the desert with no one to call for help and you decide to go wrecking our little town for kicks.”  He shook his head in disbelief.  “Boy, may Doc have mercy on your soul.”

 

->'v'<-

 

Lightning was doing his best to ignore the glares and calls at him from the citizens that had showed up for his court appointment.  There was apparently not much to do around this town because despite how this was all a little sudden the room was at least half-full of very cross people.  When they saw him, not one had seemed to recognize him.  A whole _town_ full of people who didn’t know anything about racing.  Real quality people they’ve got.

They were waiting around the for the judge (which, seriously?  The only person in town who wasn’t there already was the judge himself?) and while they were the Sheriff was going over his rights.  Lightning didn’t bother to listen.  This whole thing was going to be a slam dunk.  He’d get a fine, pay it upfront with his memorized debit card number, find a pay phone, and start calling every taxi company that existed to see who would drive out to the middle of nowhere to pick him up.  Yes, great.  Plans were great.  Even if they’d had a bad habit of not going the way he wanted in the past 24-hours.

Mater had already taken up the spot next to him at the defendant’s table after it had been determined that Lightning’s lawyer wasn’t likely to show up before the judge did.  Although, the judge was taking long enough, he was sort of tempted to bet that she would.

“Aw, don’ worry, buddy,” Mater said with a pat on his shoulder that he attempted not to cringe at.  “I’m sure Doc will give yah a fair judgement.”

He gave an exasperated huff.  “Who’s Doc?”

“ _I’m gonna let him rot!”_

Lightning winced as the door opened and a man walked in, steam almost visibly rising off his shoulders from his anger.  He looked to be about the same age as the Sheriff, maybe a bit younger since the grey in his hair was only fading in rather than taking over.  Wearing dark pants and a blue button up, he stormed in, not paying a glance to anyone in the room as he headed straight for the judge’s podium.

“I’m gonna string him up in the middle of town and let him shrivel up in the sun!  I’m gonna lock him in a cell and let him waste away—no!  I’m gonna keep him locked up until the jail _rots_ on top of him and when that jail rots I’m gonna build _another_ jail and let _that one_ rot.  I’m gonna—”

The judge, Doc, stopped, having set up at the podium and gotten a good look at Lighting for the first time.  The racer cringed under the gaze of the man.  In the last twenty seconds his worries had changed from getting to the race on time to seeing the light of day again sometime in his life.

After a long moment where everyone held their breaths, Doc sent an unwavering, heated glare to Lightning but spoke to the Sheriff.  “I want him _out_ of my courtroom.  I want him out of my _town!_ Get _rid of him._ Case closed.”

Doc banged the gavel and made to get down from the podium as outrage blew up in the room and Lightning sagged with relief.

“Hey, I’m pretty good at this lawyer-in’ stuff!” Mater exclaimed happily.  Lightning was about ready to agree with him, just to play along a bit, when the doors to the courtroom opened once more.

“Wait, don’t make a decision yet!”

The female voice drew his attention, and a moment later he found his eyes widening.  Holy cow.  What an absolute _hottie._ Her lightly curled, sandy brown hair bounced around her shoulders where she wore a nice, navy blue button up work suit.  The professional garb didn’t quite match the beachy tan her skin shone with, but her stormy blue eyes seemed to pull it all together nicely.  She looked professional, determined, and Lightning was _into it._

His brain made an automatic connection.  She must have been sent by Harv!  Someone probably realized who he was when he was knocked out, called his sponsor team to let them know he was here and in trouble, and they had sent him a lawyer to help him out of this situation.  There was probably even a car waiting outside to take him to California after this whole farce was over with.

The woman walked past the divider with the stride of a woman who didn’t take no for an answer.  She shot a look up at the judge before her eyes landed on Lightning and looked him up and down.  He did his best to lounge with the handcuffs still on, intending to give her the best view possible, while switching on smile number 3.  The _Lady Stealer._

“Hey babe, looks like your job’s easy today.  Judge’s letting me go,” he informed her, giving the same up and down that she had given him and raising his eyebrows appreciatively.

She looked surprised.  “He’s letting you go?”

“Yup, so all you gotta do is stand there and let me look at you.”  Women _loved_ to be told they looked good and have a guy complimenting their every inch.  It had worked for him a hundred and ten times and it would work again.

He watched as she crossed her arms under her nicely sized chest.  “Oh, really?”

“Hey, listen, I’ve got a great idea,” he said, eyes taking an extra second to reach her face, “You.  Me.  Dinner.  _Ka-chow!”_ He did his signature pose, the bolt on his arm shining in the light coming in through the windows.  He was so damn good it hurt.

“Oh, wow…”

He chuckled at her speechlessness.  “I know, but don’t worry about it.  I create feelings in people that they themselves don’t understand.”  He threw in a purr, sure with that performance that she would be his groupie for the rest of the Piston Cup.  And he’d let her, with looks like those.  The twins were great but _man_ would he like to see her all in red.

She looked at him with hooded eyes.  _Got her._ “Okay, listen, I’m going to go talk to the judge, okay?”

Probably to finalize whatever legalities they needed to hash out and have the keys to these stupid cuffs handed over.  “Do whatever you gotta do baby,” he said with a charming smile.

With a nod and a toss of her hair (wow, such nice hair.  He’d love to run his fingers through that) she focused on something behind him.  The coy smile on her face was unexpected.  “Hey, Mater.”

Lightning felt a shock of dumbfounded-ness run through him.

“Heya miss Sally!” the big guy said behind him.

She sent a smirk at Lightning before looking out over the crowd he’d forgotten was there.  “Hey, folks.”

There were several welcoming words that came from everyone in the room, pleasant toward the woman they all _apparently knew._

“Wha-wha-” he stuttered, watching as she swayed her hips over to the prosecutor’s table.

“Oh, that’s miss Sally!” Mater provided, _helpfully._ “She runs the Cozy Cone in town and is also the town prosecutioner.  She’s also my _fiancé.”_

Lightning couldn’t help jumping at that last one.  “ _What?!”_

Mater let out a bright laugh at his expense.  “Nah, I’m just kiddin’ whitcha!  She just likes me fer mah body.”

Judging by the devious look in her eyes, Lightning got the feeling that he wasn’t going to be leaving Radiator Springs today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hggnnnnn, for some reason this type of writing (movie to writing format) is embarrassing for me but I enjoy it so much. I do it for a lot of shows, movies, and such but never post them because I feel like if someone wants to know what happened they're just going to go watch it, not read me reiterating everything. But I don't usually put this much effort into them and I've almost finished this whole story so I thought maybe some people would enjoy reading it.  
> On that note, hope everyone here is having fun reading this!


	3. Race for Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lightning attempts to escape and realizes that was a bad idea. His second attempt goes about just as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beware of Google translated Italian phrases. Beware.

Lightning was seething.  He had been _scot free!_ There weren’t any charges and he wouldn’t have to spend any time in jail; he was just going to be let go and that-that _woman_ had to come in and ruin _everything!_ He had wanted to take her out to dinner, show her a good time, let her hang out with _Lightning McQueen_ and she just threw all that right back in his face.  He had noticed the Porsche while being escorted from the building.  She probably had a lot of daddy’s money and thought she was too good for someone in a contact sport.  Fine.  He hated prissy girls only after money anyway.

He’d been brought out to the community building where he could really get a good look at the damage he’d caused in the daylight.  There were brick shards and chunks of concrete everywhere, having made a rather spectacular avalanche during their destruction.  The roof was sagging where the impact had happened, but the support beams had held up incredibly well for such an old building and while it made Lightning a bit nervous to be standing around it looked sturdy enough.  Someone had already cleared away the fallen light from the area.

Mater had come out with them, talking animatedly about how he was going to be bringing Lightning all the materials he needed to fix the wall so that Lightning could just get to work.  He had gone off while the Sheriff and Doc explained exactly what was expected of him.  Lightning wasn’t really listening.  It was a _wall_ for pete’s sake!  Everyone— _especially Sally—_ was making such a big mess out of something that should really be very easy to fix.  Just call out a construction company to come take care of it!  Have some people who were actually getting paid to get all dirty and do menial work to handle the job.

There hadn’t been a moment that he’d stopped glaring at something or someone ever since he’d been taken out of the court room.  It was hot outside and the sun hadn’t even hit the midway point in the sky.  He couldn’t imagine standing outside all day doing _brick work_ of all things.  Doc was probably just trying to get him to keel over from sunstroke.

He didn’t know why the two old timers were still talking down to him.  It was just stacking bricks.

A minute later and the most appalling car he’d ever seen drove up and stopped by the curb.  Maybe he shouldn’t have been surprised that Mater drove the rustiest, oldest, heretic of a tow truck he’d ever seen.  He was shocked that it still ran. 

He eyed the contraption the truck was pulling dubiously.  “Is that a…”

Doc glared down at him with the same heat he’d had in the court room, jerking his thumb to the cement mixer that Mater and the Sheriff were now unhooking and pushing up onto the curb.  “This here’s _Bessie._ The best cement mixer this side of the interstate.  You’re gonna use her to fix the wall.”

“Are you kidding me?!  I don’t know how to use one of those things!”

Mater spoke up from where he was pulling out a bag of cement from the back of the truck.  “Shoot!  That’s why I’m gonna teach yeh!  It’s real easy once you git the hang of it.”

Lightning recoiled from the cloud the bag puffed up when dropped on the ground.  “I shouldn’t have to do this!  I should be in California _right now!”_

“Tough luck, kid!” Doc said, a clear amount of mean satisfaction in his voice.  “You broke our town and now you’re gonna fix it.  If you work hard and don’t spend too much time scratching your ass you should have it done in a couple of days.”

“ _Days?!”_

The smile he received was nasty.  “So you’d better get to it.”  He turned around, pulling out a pair of aviators from his pocket and heading back toward the courthouse.  “Sheriff, I leave you in charge.  If you need me I’ll be in my garage.”

“Thanks Doc, I’ll keep you updated.”

“Don’t strain yourself.”

The Sheriff turned his attention back to Lightning, much to his ire.  “Well now, let’s get started shall we?  You can begin by cleaning things up off the street and sidewalk then Mater will give you a full lesson on the mixer when you’re ready.  Got that?”  He produced a silver key from his pocket and Lightning made a decision.

As soon as the cuffs were off his wrists, he did not hesitate to dash down the street.

Mater, who had been setting up a portable awning in an attempt to stave off overheating themselves, stopped what he was doing to watch him take off.  Sheriff hadn’t even batted an eye at the escape.  The two watched as Lightning kept up the pace for several blocks, never fully leaving their sight since there was only really one road in town and it was completely straight.

The truck driver looked to the Sheriff with a touch of concern.  “Should, uh, we go after him?”

Sheriff just shrugged.  “Finish up what you’re doing and I’ll take you for a milkshake at Flo’s.  I’ll let Doc know afterwards.”

“Dag’un, free milkshake!”

 

->'v'<-

 

Lightning was certain he was going to die.  He was going to die in the middle of a freaking desert and no one was going to know what happened to him except the crazy town of hicks that wanted him dead in the first place.  Groaning, he adjusted his jacket.  It hadn’t taken long for him to feel the beginnings of a sunburn on his scalp after making it out of town so he’d taken off the jacket and draped it across his head.  It wasn’t a pretty look, but he’d take that over a throbbing head for the next week.

It seemed like the desert went on forever.  Everything looked the same as well, so any progress he knew he was making just felt like he was on one of those cartoon treadmills with the repeating background.  He was hot, sweaty, tired from running and walking, and just wanted to get to an air-conditioned hotel room in California with room service and a hot water shower.  Was that _really_ so much to ask for after all he’d been through?

He wasn’t sure how far or for how long he’d walked (at least he couldn’t see the town anymore) when he heard the sound of tires rolling up behind him.

Against his better judgement, he looked over to see Sally and the Sheriff grinning out at him from a police cruiser.

“Hey there, Patches,” Sally said before throwing an amused look at the jacket he was using as a hat.  “Nice look you got there.”

Lightning kept walking, the motion almost automatic by now.  He was too tired for a full-blown glare so he just gave her a wilting look.

This was, apparently, hilarious.  The two in the air-conditioned car laughed at him.  He was starting to come to the grudging conclusion that he had not been smart when he had ran from town.  Maybe he should have thought that through a little more.

The Sheriff leaned forward with a vicious glint in his eyes.  “Are you really that _dumb_ boy?  What did you think was out here that could help you?  Dehydration?”

He felt a flush across his cheeks that wasn’t caused by the sun.

“Hey Patches.”  He looked up at the nickname.  “Looks like you just got duped.  _Ka-chow!”_ With a lazy finger, Sally pushed the sideview mirror of the car so that it reflected the sun into his eyes, making him wince.

Today was shaping up to be even _better than yesterday._

->'v'<-

 

“Do it again.”

“Are you kidding?!”

The look in Doc’s eyes spelled _leagues_ of just how much he was not kidding, but Lightning was fuming and wouldn’t back down this time.

“You told me to remake the wall and _hey look!_ I _did it!”_ He gestured to the mess of concrete and brick he had put together in the span of half the day.  As soon as Mater had showed him how to use the mixer he was slapping bricks down like some kind of building demon.  Every single minute of it had been stupid beyond belief, but it was done, it was in one piece (sort of) and he was ready to _leave_ this hell that he had landed in.  It was for the best really.  _He_ hated the town.  _The town_ hated him.  It just wasn’t working out.

He needed to dump this place like an overly clingy fan.

Doc grit his teeth for an instant before snapping, “I told you to _fix_ the wall and you left it in even _worse_ shape than when you started.  At least before everything was on the ground.  Now it’s just waiting to come toppling down on someone’s head.”

“Hey, look, _not my problem._ What did you expect?  I’m not a _builder._ I’m a _racer._ I drive cars, not fix property damage.”

The older man just let out a heavy, sarcastic laugh.  “Oh ho, so you’re a _racer_ are you?  Then tell me, where’s your big fancy racecar?”

Lightning felt heat spread across his cheeks and up to his ears, either from anger at Doc’s clear goading or straight embarrassment.  “Probably in Los Angeles, where I _should_ be right now instead of arguing about a _wall_ in Radiation Springs.”

Mater cleared his throat and interjected, “It’s actually _Radiator_ Springs, buddy.”

The kid rolled his eyes so hard it could have caused the city to flip.

If it wasn’t the background he came from it was the absolute _attitude_ of the hotshot that irked Doc to no end.  Well, he knew ways of taking overconfident children down a peg or two.  “Alright,” he said, coming up with something on the spot and rolling with it, “if you think you’re so great, how about you and I have a little race.”

The suggestion didn’t surprise just the kid.  Everyone who had gathered to witness the monstrosity that was their community center let out a gasp.

“Doc!” Sally protested the loudest, immediately looking flushed with upset.

“Uh, where are you gonna get two cars to race?” Ramone asked, giving him a dubious look.

Despite how surprised and nervous people had sounded before, just about everyone was willing to offer up their personal cars to see this race come about.

“Well heck, McQueen can use mah truck!”

“ _No thanks.”_

“Nuh-uh, you ain’t touchin’ my Impala!”

“ _Didn’t ask.”_

“Well, I suppose if it is for a _race_ I might allow you to borrow my Fiat!  But you will have to let me fit it with lightyears first!  Oh ho ho!  Guido, do you hear?  We are having a _race!”_

_“If I wanted to lose the race I’d take you up on that offer.”_

“What?  Is there an auto show going on today?  You whippersnappers won’t be touchin’ my model-T!”

_“Can someone please escort her home?”_

After everyone had either offered their cars up or threatened anyone who touched them, Doc raised his hand to settle them all.  “Hold your horses everybody, the kid can use one of my cars.”

Sally gave Doc a flabbergasted look.  “ _One of?_ How many do you have?”

He grunted and made a gesture for the racer to follow him.  “Just two.  You all head to Willy’s Butte and we’ll follow behind.  Luigi, I’ll take you up on that offer for the Lightyears.  You good with meeting us at your shop first and then heading down?”

“We would be honored to provide!  Veloce, Guido!  Al negozio!”

“Okay!”

There was an air of excitement around the townsfolk now as they all quickly figured out who they could carpool with down to the track and scattered to do so.  Luigi and Guido hurried down the street back to their shop to get ready for when Doc and Lightning stopped by for the change.  Sally watched the two receding figures with a healthy dose of anxiousness but agreed to ride with Flo and Ramone when asked.

Doc led Lightning to the clinic where his everyday car was waiting in the shade up front.  He noticed as the kid stopped and looked over the frame.

“That’s an AMC Javelin, right?  What year is it?”

He was not interested in small talk with the kid he was about to smoke, but he recognized the glint of appreciation in the kid’s eye.  Rubbing it in a bit couldn’t hurt.  “1973.”

The kid’s eyebrows jumped up.  “It’s in good condition.”  Then his whole face wrinkled.  “I’m not driving _this_ am I?”

Any amount of connection that might have bubbled up from a mutual interest in classic cars was smothered instantly.  Doc fixed him with a glare.  “I’m driving it.  Get in.”

Lightning did as he was told, but still hadn’t lost the wrinkle in his nose.  “What _am_ I driving?”

“Mustang.  1990.”

The wrinkle disappeared as Doc started the car up.  He appeared to be considering something and for the moment Doc just appreciated the silence.  Then he scoffed and scowled at the driver.  “You’ve got _that_ much faith in an old car?  Trust me, old timer, you could put me in a _beetle_ and you’d still be eating my dust.”

A cocky smile had found its way onto the kid’s face as they made their way over to Doc’s garage where the Mustang was.  He used the Javelin around town since there wasn’t much of a drive anywhere he wanted to go but had gotten the Mustang when he’d decided he didn’t like driving the Javelin on the Interstate and would use the newer car to get around when he needed to leave the county.  The Mustang was under used but it wasn’t in disrepair at all.  They made it to the garage and Doc made Lightning wait for him to get the Mustang out.  Apparently he had learned his lesson about trying to escape on foot that morning because when Doc rolled back out the racer was waiting impatiently for him.

“Now listen up,” Doc said before handing over the keys.  Lightning had nearly snatched them the moment he’d seen them but Doc was no idiot.  “The Mustang doesn’t have enough gas in it right now to get to the interstate and then all the way to another gas station.  So you _could_ try to escape, but it wouldn’t do ya much good.  ‘Specially when Sheriff’s got his car all topped off and ready to hunt you down again.”

The scowl was back full force as the kid snatched the keys from him.  “I’m not going to run away from a challenge, old man.”

Doc couldn’t resist a smirk.  “Good to hear, rookie.”

->'v'<-

 

Lightning was certain this had to be one of the saddest lineups the world had ever seen.  The Mustang he was seated in didn’t have the same pizzaz that his personal Corvette proudly displayed.  It was red, at least, but not _his_ red.  The Javelin was in a nice blue, but it was of such an old make that Lightning doubted it could hit even 100 mph.  Which was pretty sad, actually.  It was such a good-looking car he sort of wished it had the speed to match.

He figured something had been done to the Mustang, besides the gas tank being a little less than a quarter full when he’d gotten in it.  Whatever Doc had done to it to try to fix the race he could handle.  Heck, he’d handled his tires getting blown out in the last turn of the Piston Cup race and _still_ managed to secure himself a tie.  Anything this old timer had done he would just deal with when it came.  It wasn’t like he didn’t have any experience with driving tampered cars.  This time he would just be aware of it.

He had the windows rolled down, the air conditioning not doing enough for him in the midday heat.  He could see the air distorting in the sun and made a mental checklist to pick up a couple bottles of water after he won to down on his way out of town.

Drumming his fingers on the wheel, Lightning took a few deep breaths to steady himself.  “ _I am speed.  Float like a Cadillac, sting like a Beemer.”_

He heard full blown laughter coming from the car next to him and whipped his head to see that Doc had also rolled down his window.  And apparently heard Lightning’s pre-race mantra.

Lightning narrowed his gaze at the man.  “Yeah, uh-huh, keep laughing old man.  Just make sure not to choke on all the dust you’ll be eating.”

“Oh, I’m looking forward to a full course meal, son.”

Well what the heck was that supposed to mean? 

“Alright then we will be starting now as soon as I drop this flag, yes?” Luigi called to the two racers, jumping into place to the side of both the cars.

“Yes,” both called back to him.

“Then the race shall proceed with one lap around the butte with the first one to return here being the winner!”

“ _Get on with it!”_

“Right then!  Are we ready?  Are we set?  Then we!  Shall!  GO!”

Lightning peeled out from the starting line, changing gears as quickly as he was able to get up to speed.  He wasn’t going to go easy on the old man.  This race was a blip on his radar compared to the one waiting for him in California.  All he had to do was beat a doctor driving a car over forty years old in a single lap around an oval track.  This was something he could have done back when he was sixteen and his driver’s license was hot off the press.

The first turn was wide and inclined, making it easy to let his momentum carry him around the turn, and giving him a quick view of what the track looked like behind him.  He felt his heart leap excitedly when he saw Doc still all the way back near the starting line.  Hah!  The old timer probably realized he was way in over his head the moment Lightning took off!  It was so sad that the young racer almost felt bad.

But, well, not enough to _slow down_ or anything crazy like that.

Instead he hit the gas again as soon as the turn was up, timing it with the professional touch that came so naturally to him.  Sure this Mustang in particular was not going to be breaking any world records, even with someone as great as Lightning driving it, but he could draw out the best of even the most incapable cars.  It had been driving pretty smooth too, considering it wasn’t built for this sort of strain.

Which meant, as he approached the third turn, he felt like rubbing his victory in Doc’s face a bit.  And what better way to do so than to complete the lap before the old timer had even gotten to the first turn?  Lightning grinned, feeling a little thrill at how easy this had all become once he was finally behind the wheel of a car again, and turned.

_Turned._

_Turn, turn, Turn, TURN!!!_

The car did not turn.  It made a vague effort to do so, but the tires had lost all purchase and were just kicking up dirt as Lightning flew off the track at over a hundred miles an hour with no control.  He pulled his foot off the gas and slammed his foot down on the brake, hearing the dusty grind of tires sliding across dirt.  There was no stopping now.

He saw the patch of cactuses getting too close for comfort and knew immediately that there was no way to avoid them.  Were cactuses soft or firm like trees?  He didn’t have time to think of the answer before he was forced to brace.  The cactus patch was hit and several of the plants went down under the car as they were driven over.  The seatbelt around Lightning’s chest strained at the impact and for a moment he was afraid the airbag would go off, but it never did.

For a moment he just sat and sucked in several deep breaths.  Crashes were terrifying, no matter how big or small they were.  There was always a chance of something small going very wrong and screwing someone up for life.  That at least was pounded into his head from the moment he had expressed interest in being a driver.  After his heartrate was moderately back under control he looked around himself in the car at a bit of a loss.  He tried putting the car into reverse and going out the way he came, but could hear the tires spinning uselessly from where they were suspended in the air.

Lightning groaned and dropped his head against the steering wheel, wincing slightly as he tugged the seat belt against his chest once more.  There was going to be a great bruise there by tomorrow that he was not looking forward to dealing with.

He’d lost.  So _close_ to the end and he’d just ran off the track like a bat out of hell.  Or like a car with no purchase on a dirt road.  Where had he even gone wrong?  He drove it just like he drove all the time.  He’d taken that first turn just fine too, so why did he fail so spectacularly when coming back around?

His thoughts were torn to shreds when he heard laughter coming from behind him.  Doc’s gloating voice filtered in through the open windows.  “Tell me, son, was that floating like a Cadillac or stinging like a Beemer?”

Lightning was too mortified to grace that with an answer.

“Heheheh, you race like you fix walls.  _Lousy._ Better get moving, kiddo.  You’ve got a wall to redo.”


	4. That's Not Cow Tipping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Watching the town prisoner sounds a little boring, but Mater has some ideas on how to add a little fun into his shift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love Mater and Lightning's friendship, so be prepared for bromance.

“Mater, I don’t think this is such a good idea.”

Lightning hesitated at the fence, looking out over the field Mater had brought him to.  He had been told earlier that Mater was in charge tonight but had assumed that just meant that the tow truck driver was going to bring him back to his cell and lock him in that night.  When it had gotten too dark to continue work on the wall and he’d wrapped everything up so he could start again tomorrow, they had piled into Mater’s old International Harvester.

He was tired enough that it had taken him a minute to realize that Mater had driven them out of town.  And that his driver was giggling to himself.  Lightning may or may not have jumped to the conclusion that he was going to be killed in the middle of nowhere tonight.

“Aw _shoot_ buddy!  T’ain’t nothin’ tah worry ‘bout!  We’re just out here havin’ a bit’a fun!”  Mater was leaning against the fence as well, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he surveyed their prey.  Most of the cows were near the barn where there were still stray bits of hay from the day’s meal strewn about on the ground.  One or two were moving about lazily, snuffling the ground or finding a place to settle for the night while others had their heads dipped sleepily, but the majority were laying on the ground, completely asleep.  It was a calming image, but they apparently had other plans for the night.

“Isn’t this _dangerous?”_ he asked.  Cows were a lot bigger in person than he had thought they would be.

Mater just laughed and thumped him on the back.  “Nah!  S’long as yer doin’ it right!  Cows’re so _dumb!”_

“Yeah, but—”

“Okay, follow me!  And _watch out fer Frank!_ ”

“Wait, Mater!  Who’s Frank?!”

The fence they had been leaning against apparently had a design flaw, which allowed Mater to heave up one of the planks and slip under it easily.  Lightning followed closely behind, mostly because even if he wasn’t entirely thrilled to do this he wasn’t just going to back down and partially because he didn’t want to be left alone in the dark by himself.

“ _Mater!”_ He followed the giggling figure further into the field, catching up after replacing the fence.

Stopping suddenly, Mater waited until Lightning was closer before whispering and gesturing to a cow maybe twenty feet away.  “Okay, here’s whatcha gotta do!  Yeh gotta sneak up real quiet to their side.  Cows’re really good at hearin’ so yeh gotta be _extra_ quiet, ‘kay?  Then yeh just take _this—”_   He pulled a can out of one of his deep pockets that Lightning thought was spray pain for a moment until he saw the cone attached.  An air horn?  “And give it a quick toot.  Makes ‘em go runnin’ faster ‘n any a those cars you’ve ridden in!”

Lightning snorted because just the image of a cow outrunning him in the Rust-eze stock car was absolutely ridiculous.  But, admittedly, he was starting to get curious.  “Okay, why don’t you show me how it’s done?”

“Can do!”  With that, Mater made a beeline for the cow he’d been eyeing.  Lightning was surprised to find that, when determined, the heavy man could be incredibly light-footed.  Without any grass to crunch through and the soft dirt to cushion his footfalls, even Mater was nearly silent.  Only nearly because he couldn’t seem to stop the breathy chuckles.  Watching him take it so seriously made Lightning huff a laugh as well.

Getting up right next to the animal, Mater waited a moment to make sure he hadn’t woken it before giving the air horn a light tap.  The sound was quick but loud and, predictably, spooked the cow awake.  It let out a loud _moo!_ and tossed its head back in surprise.  Mater laughed, stepping back quickly as it cast about for what had woken it before seeing him and started trotting away, as utterly disgruntled as a cow could get.

Mater returned to Lightning, trying not to laugh so hard he woke up the rest of the field.  Rolling his eyes, Lightning laughed at the fact that Mater thought it was so funny.  “You’re insane,” he pointed out, not unfondly.

“I don’t care who yah are, that’s funny right there!” he replied, wiping a fake tear from his eye.  A moment later he perked up as he saw another cow that hadn’t been disturbed by the air horn.  The poor thing didn’t know what it was in for.

Even Lightning couldn’t help the small laugh that came out when it bucked in surprise before chuffing in annoyance at the giggling, full-grown man.  This time when he came back, Mater pushed the air horn into Lightning’s hands.

“Wait, Mater, I can’t do this!” he fervently whispered, trying to push it back.

Mater refused to take it, instead slinging his arm around Lightning’s shoulders and guiding him towards another clump of cows to take advantage of.  “ _Sure_ yah can, buddy!  Yeh jus’ gotta be _real sneaky!”_

Cows were _big_ and while Mater seemed to know what he was doing around them this was still the first time Lightning had ever been around one.  Let alone within two feet of one trying to spook it from sleep where it could potentially kick out or buck into him.  “No, seriously, I can’t just—”

“Chicken.”

He looked up at Mater, who was smirking and looking at him knowingly.  Scowling, he said back, “I’m _not_ a—”

“ _Bok bok bok bok!”_

“ _Okay!  Fine!_ I’ll do it!”

Mater playfully pushed him in the direction of the cows, all the while giggling some more at his expense.  Even though he’d said he’d do it, Lightning still hesitated a small bit, fumbling with the horn.  Stepping slowly, he got as close as he dared to one of the animals, skimming back to its eyes now and then to make sure it was still asleep and keeping out of kicking range.  Raising the horn, his finger slipped off the button the first time.  After a moment of rearranging he pressed down with his thumb.

This cow did not bother looking around for who or what had woken it up so suddenly in the middle of the night and instead just took off.  It ran, kicking up dust in its wake as it _mooed_ like a cow out of hell, running past a large clump of its fellow pasture goers and waking them into a panic as well.  Pretty quickly the yard had become chaos as a good deal of the livestock had been woken up and were all running about without aim or purpose, mooing in confusion and fear.

Lightning was stunned at first but started laughing soon after, even as Mater grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the small stampede that was going on.  The two laughed, the more experienced prankster slapping the younger one on the back for a job well done as they reveled in the discord they had created.  Then another sound entered the cacophony and Mater stopped, looking toward the barn with wide eyes.

Realizing that they were no longer laughing and that a low pitched _moo_ was getting louder, Lightning rose an eyebrow.  “What?  What’s wrong?”

“That’s Frank!”  With only those words, Mater spun on his heel and took off toward the fence faster than Lightning thought he could move.

Lightning was left standing by himself, confounded as to what this might mean.  “Frank?”

He turned back to the barn just in time to watch the cows part like the red sea for one of the most terrifying sights he’d ever seen.  A large bull with muscled shoulders and a light brown coat hoofed at the ground and lowered his huge horns, eyeing the trespasser to his territory without an inkling of mercy.

A string of curses flew from Lightning’s mouth as he took off after Mater as fast as his legs would carry him.  He heard another ominous _moo_ behind him and pushed hard, shoes slipping against the earth that he had been grateful for before.  Ahead, Mater was slowing down as he laughed his ass off, calling over his shoulder, “Run, McQueen!  Run!  He’s gonna git‘chu!”

Lightning could only scream back in response as he felt the bull’s breath on the back of his neck.

They made it to the fence, not bothering to duck under the loosened plank this time but using pure adrenaline to jump over it and keep running.  They didn’t bother to look back and see if Frank had smashed through the fence after them and instead just assumed that they were still being chased all the way back to the truck.  When they were finally safe, back where they had pulled the truck off the side of the road and using it as a shield between them and the field, they leaned against their knees and panted.  Every time they’d catch their breaths they’d look at each other and start laughing again.

“That was _insane!”_

“Hey you run pretty fast for growin’ up in the city!  You sure you never done this a‘fore?”

“I don’t know anyone crazy enough to try something like that!”

“Well now yeh know me!”

Lightning smiled at him.  “Yeah, I guess I do.”

They piled into the truck once again, Mater reaching into the back and pulling out two beers to share in celebration.  It was Busch, but after the night he’d had it was like a treat for surviving.  Lightning thought about mentioning that maybe they shouldn’t be drinking and driving but Mater seemed to know what he was doing so he let the moment happen.

“That was pretty impressive fer yer first time!  Yeh even got tah meet Frank and live tah tell the tale!”

That made his stomach twist uncomfortably, the beer feeling heavy in his gut.  “Uh, has anyone not?”

“Nah, not so far.  But Frank once got me _right here.”_  Mater gestured around where his appendix was.  “Put a hole straight through me!  Doctor’s said I’d never grow mah liver back, but here I am good as new!”

“What, seriously!?  That’s incredible!”

“Yer darned tootin’!”  Mater grinned, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to give him an amused look.

Lightning went over what he said, realizing how _incredible_ it really sounded.  “Wait…are you telling the truth?”

A chuckle escaped the driver.  “If I’m lyin’ I’m cryin’.”

That was not an answer but Lightning decided to laugh anyway.

 

->'v'<-

 

They passed by The Cozy Cone, Mater’s eyes lingering on the building for a moment before moving on through the town.  He thought about it for a moment before stopping the truck in the middle of the road rather suddenly.

Lightning jerked with the sudden stop before sending a tired yet exasperated look to his friend.  “What was that for?”

“Hey McQueen, how’d you feel ‘bout stayin’ at Th’ Cone tonight?”

The blond rolled his eyes.  “I don’t want to think about what the Sheriff would do to me if I’m not in my cell in the morning.”

Mater looked at him with a quirked smile.  “Don’ worry about Sheriff.  I’ll let ‘im know where yeh are.”

He huffed back at him for a moment, but he was honestly too tired by now to argue any further.  “You know what, sure.  But I’m not sure Sally will be too interested in letting me stay.”

Putting the truck into reverse, Mater chuckled.  “Aw, she was just upset that’cha wrecked the community center.  She really loves this town is all.”

Lightning gave a wane smile out the window, thinking of the striking image the woman had imposed in the court room.  All curves and confidence.  Even though her appearance had ultimately wound him up in his current situation she had really been a sight to see.  “Yeah, I can tell.”

Mater gave a slight gasp that had Lightning looking up from the window.  His grin lit up the cab brighter than the overhead light could have.  “You _love her!”_

He jerked back at the statement, even as a part of him consented that Mater wasn’t too far off the mark.  “What!  _No!_ I don’t!  She hates me!”

But Mater was chortling and waggling his eyebrows now that he had gotten his friend flustered.  “You _love_ ‘er and she likes you back!  That’s so great, we gotta tell her!”  The truck stopped for a moment as they reached The Cozy Cone before Mater put it into drive and parked in the spot next to where Sally’s Porcha was out front.

“No we _do not!”_ His stomach churned wildly as Mater had said Sally liked him and it was all he could do to keep it from showing too much on his face.

Mater laugh-snorted once more at his expense before climbing out of the truck.  “Alright, alright!  But jus’ thinka how _cute_ you two would—”

“ _Enough!”_

They closed up the truck and went into The Cone.  The main lobby lights were on but no one was at the front counter.  Mater walked straight up to the front desk and pressed a buzzer affixed to the counter.

He seemed to be in thought for a moment.  “You know, if yer gonna tell her yeh’d better do it quick ‘cause you got that race thingie yeh gotta git to, right?”

Lightning was almost offended.  “It’s not _just_ a _race!_ We’re talking about the _Piston Cup!_ Whoever wins— _when I win—_ I’ll get signed on a deal with _Dinaco._ They’ll sponsor all my races, I won’t have to deal with all the poor, old, country rednecks that buy Rust-Eze—”

“What’s wrong wit country folk?”

His rant was stopped as he looked at Mater, who seemed genuinely hurt by the off-handed comment.  Lightning realized what he had said a moment later.  “Oh, no…no, not _you_ Mater.  I-I didn’t mean _you._ You’re great, you’re not like—I just meant—”

“Heh, it’s okay.  I git what you mean.”

Even with the assurance, Lightning couldn’t seem to get rid of the pit of self-loathing that had dropped into his stomach.

Mater lit up, as if he’d completely forgotten about it already.  “Hey, if yer gonna be all rich and famous do yeh think yeh could git me a ride in one-a those fancy heli-copters?  I’ve _always_ wanted to ride in one-a dem fancy heli-copters!”

Lightning could only give a wane shrug as he wondered whether Sally had heard the buzzer the first time.  “Sure, buddy.  If I win the race, I’ll see what I can do.”

There was a moment of silence before he looked over to Mater, who had such a fond look on his face it nearly gave him whiplash.

“I knew it.  I _knew_ I made a good choice.”

Still a little stunned from his expression, Lightning looked at him searchingly.  “In what?”

The look he was given was one of confusion, as if his meaning should have been obvious.  “My best friend.”

Lightning was completely floored by that.  He had gotten used to the idea of everyone wanting to be his friend.  Of all the people in the stands looking out at him and wishing they could give that title to him but…well, he didn’t know any of them.  When was the last time he could actually call someone a friend?  When was the last time he knew anyone he wanted to be friends with?  Too long.  Long enough that he forgot what it was like.  Forgot how good it felt to know he had one.

He was still trying to come up with an answer to give Mater, even if no matter what he said he knew it wouldn’t come out right and he’d probably ruin the moment, when the door to what he’d thought was the back office opened.  Sally walked out, her hair lopsided and wearing yoga pants with heels, but otherwise looking as if she’d rolled out of bed and into professional attire.

“Welcome to The Cozy Cone, I apologize for the—Mater?”  She seemed thrown off by stopping the courtesy greeting halfway through, wobbling slightly as she recognized who was at the counter.

“Evenin’ miss Sally!”

She glanced between him and Lightning before sighing and walking the rest of the way to the counter, leaning against it lazily now that she didn’t need to bother with being formal.  “What are you two doing here?”  She jerked a thumb in the blonde’s direction.  “And what’s _he_ doing out of his cell?”

Lightning frowned but Mater just chuckled.  “We was just out doin’ some cow tippin’—”

“Cow tipping,” she deadpanned.

“And I jus’ thought it’s a real shame that McQueen here has tah go sleep in the jail again tahnight and go back tah working hard on that fancy new wall tahmorrow.”

Sally stared at him, devoid of any kind of pity someone might normally feel toward that sort of statement.  “Uh-huh.  And you know he’s not going to cause trouble _because..._?”

“I’m standing right here,” Lightning grumbled but didn’t interject further.

Mater raised his hand, as if he were giving an oath.  “Don’ you worry miss Sally, I’ll vouch fer him!  McQueen’s gonna be a downright _gentleman.”_ He winked at her, which she raised an eyebrow to, before elbowing Lightning to chip in.

“Uh, yeah.  You won’t even know I’m here.”

Sally sighed and seemed to think it over for a minute.  “Well, I suppose there’s no lack of rooming right now.  Fine, why not?  But you have to take a shower straight away.  I don’t want you tracking dirt and sweat all over the place.”

The thought of a hot shower followed by an actual bed was so enticing, Lightning would have scrubbed every inch of the room for her afterwards if that’s what she wanted in exchange.  “Done.  One hundred percent.”

“Aw, thanks miss Sally!  You two sure do git along well, don’tcha!”

Lightning shot him a warning look as her eyebrows scrunched in confusion.  “What?”

“Nothin’!  I’ll just leave you two lovebirds alone.”  He gave them both a wink, met by an aghast sound from Lightning before he quickly retreated out the front doors with a grin on his face.

As soon as he was gone, Sally turned an amused expression to Lightning.  “What did he mean by that?”

“ _Absolutely nothing.  He’s crazy.”_

She bummed as if about to think on it further before turning around to the desk behind the counter and pulling open a drawer of keys.  Lightning sagged forward a bit.  Mater was like a walking five-hour energy.  It was kind of hard to be exhausted when he stood right next to you, but as soon as he was gone from the room all the events from the day seemed to weigh all at once.  A great guy to be around, but Lightning sort of needed a break from that.  No less an amazing friend though.  The smile returned to his face at that thought.

“Mater really trusts you, huh?”

“Huh?”  Lightning looked up from his thoughts to the searching gaze Sally had set upon him.

“He took you out, brought you here, _vouched_ for you.  He must really think you’re okay to do all that.”

Unsure what she was trying to get at, he gave her a helpless shrug.  “I guess?”

Her lips pursed.  “You guess?”

“I mean, I try?”

“What do you mean you try?”

He gave another weak shrug.  “I don’t really know.  I’ve kinda had a long day, not exactly thinking straight right now.”

Her eyes softened a bit at that.  “Right, sorry.  Here.”  She passed over a key, not a card like most of the hotels Lightning stayed at these days but a solid turn in the lock key.  “Up the stairs and first one to the left.”

The key felt solid.  As if it were a physical piece of trust that she was handing him.  Ugh, he must really be tired.  “Yeah, thanks.”  He pushed himself up, wobbling a little but righting himself quickly.  “Um, thank you, for everything.”

The smile she returned was kind.  “Yeah, you too.”

He wasn’t sure whether she meant the wall or something else.


	5. Fabulous - Yeah Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lightning stumbles upon Doc's old garage and learns he's been hiding far more than anyone could have guessed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I write these types of stories (I.E. one media to another) I don't like going back and forth from the original media to mine because then I feel like I have to follow it too closely and that can become boring. So what I do is -- in this case -- watch the movie or a scene and start writing maybe an hour after so that I still know what's said and how the scene progresses but there are gaps in my memory I can fill with my own creativity. In this case, I apparently mashed two scenes together completely. Forgot there were two different, short, scenes that take place in Doc's garage and while I was writing it turned into one, long scene in Doc's garage.  
> I like how it turned out, it was just weird to go back and realize that I'd done that, haha.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do _all week!”_

Lightning stormed out of the clinic, the brain scar he’d just gotten only mildly dimmed by being told to buzz off.  He was close.  _So close_ to finishing that wall and finally getting back on the road to California.  He had used all the bricks the town had on hand when he’d gotten started but the Sheriff had seen this coming and gotten an order in for a palette of more of them to come in today.  All the Sheriff needed to do was have Mater go down to the post office with him to pick up the palette with the truck.

And now because Sheriff was dawdling around it was going to take _that much longer_ for Lightning to finish.

“I can’t _believe_ this!”  A stray can happened upon his path and he kicked it as if he could make it fly to Los Angeles and let someone know to come get him.

The can did its best, but just wasn’t up to par with Lightning’s expectations (like everything recently).  Instead of making it up to the atmosphere, it bounced heartily off the wall of the courthouse and angled back toward the clinic.  And, according to Lightning’s luck for the past week, bounced straight into the open garage door, followed by the sound of several things crashing to the ground.  Lightning winced.  Oh, he was definitely going to get in trouble for that.

Checking around to see if anyone else had noticed what he’d done or heard the sound, he hurried over to the open door.  If the world was good enough to him he could find whatever had fallen, set it back, and be gone before anyone knew that anything had happened.  The garage was dim, the few windows it had dirty from years of dust that had never been cleaned.  Lightning glanced around for a light switch but couldn’t seem to find anything that resembled one.

Taking his eyes off the walls, he squinted in the dark and let out a low whistle.  “Geez, Doc.  Time to clean out the old garage.”

There was a fine layer of dust over most of the items laying around: the workbench covered in tools, papers, and boxes that looked as if they hadn’t been touched in the last decade.  There were two cars parked in the center of the garage, one covered by a tarp that had a deeper layer of dust than everything else and the other being the Javelin.  He had to admit he was a little curious, but for the moment he was there on a mission.  He’d ask Doc about it later and try to manage a jab at how he’d mentioned he only owned two cars before.  Well, buddy, that looked like another car to him.

He turned away from the cars and back to the floor nearby the bench where things were piled up in overflowing boxes and leaning against the wall.  This was the most likely place for his wayward can to do some damage.  As he thought this, he found the offender sitting innocently on the floor next to a stack of rims and overturned box of parts.  It looked as if one of the rims had been leaning against the box and when it was knocked over had sent the box teetering onto its side as well.

Lightning sighed, but at least it was an easy fix.  Righting the box, he started stuffing the parts back in, squinting to make sure he hadn’t left anything sitting on the floor.  When he was sure he’d gotten everything he stacked it back up and was about to put the rims back as well when something that was not the heavy silver color of most car parts caught his eye.

He had to do a double-take because at first he didn’t believe what he was seeing.

A Piston Cup was hanging haphazardly out the corner of a box, several wrenches of varying sizes filling the bowl as if it were an old coffee mug that had a leak.  Lightning’s jaw had dropped open and without thinking he tiptoed around the boxes to make sure it was the real thing and not just a cheap knockoff.  Brushing some of the dust off the rim, he could feel that it was real brass.

“Doc has a _Piston Cup?”_ he breathed, reverent of the trophy beneath his fingertips.  He glanced around, searching for some sign of anything more than just a guy who liked to tinker with his vintage cars and was not disappointed.  Hiding behind more junk were two other trophies of the same shape and color.  Lightning felt like he was spinning after being punched in the face.  “ _Three Piston Cups?!”_

Looking back at the one under his fingers he read the inscription at the bottom.

_“No way!”_

He leapt out from the junk pile and rounded the Javelin to the covered car.  Lifting up the edge of the tarp by the side door he could just make out the lettering in the dim light.  The paint job was pristine, like it had just been done yesterday or like the majesty of the car itself repelled dirt or any kind of wear.  Lightning hovered his fingertips over the Hudson insignia.

“The sign says _Stay Out!_ I knew you were an _idiot_ but I didn’t think you couldn’t read.”

Lightning jumped, dropping the tarp and snatching his fingers away like he was a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.  Doc was standing in the doorway to the garage, the light from outside surrounding him so that he seemed like an imposing shadow.  But even with the scowl planted deep on his face, Lightning couldn’t see the grouchy old-timer he knew so little about.  Instead he saw the racing legend standing at the entrance to his garage, the sacred residence for any driver.

“You’re…you’re the _Fabulous Hudson Hornet!”_

Doc ignored him, sending a particularly angry look at where Lightning had lifted the tarp on the Hornet before moving over to the workbench.  “I don’t go by that anymore.”

Lightning followed on his heels, head buzzing excitedly as he met one of the most incredible racers of all time.  He had never expected to meet _anyone_ of particular worth when he ended up in Radiator Springs and now he was meeting a racing legend?  This must be it.  This _must_ be the reason why his week had been absolute hell.  All so that he could meet Doctor Marshall Hudson right here.

“I can’t believe this,” he said, a grin a mile wide on his face.

“Then _don’t._ And git out of my garage.”

He was running his mouth as fast as a Cadillac, he knew, but he couldn’t stop himself.  He gesticulated between the man, the car, and the cups.  “Aw man, does the whole town know about this?  We gotta talk!  Racer to racer!”

Doc didn’t even look at him, brows drawn darkly over his eyes.  “I’m not a racer anymore.”

“Sure you are!  You might be out of the game but you don’t just get rid of that _feeling_ of winning, right?  Racing’s in your blood!”

He had moved to his work table, as if checking to make sure nothing had been touched as well as keeping his back to Lightning.  “I haven’t raced in over forty years, now git out before I call Sheriff down here.”

The threats were barely heard over his over excitement.  “Where have you been all these years?  Here?  Why _here?_ Why would you quit after all those years of being at the top of every championship to wind up here?” 

Doc went still, his shoulders rigid as he bent over his work table.  “You think I _quit?”_

Lightning went quiet as he watched silent outrage roll off the old racer in waves.  His knuckles were white where they gripped the table and for a moment he just breathed deeply before twisting over to a light switch along the inside of a cabinet.  A light turned on over the table and Lightning looked up to see what had been illuminated.  He felt himself sober up fast at the sight of the twisted heap of metal lying on the beach.

“Oh right…your big crash in ’54…”

Still not looking back at him, Doc let out a mirthless laugh.  “You think I _quit._ No, no.  _They_ quit on _me._ ”  He rounded on him, eyes further ablaze than Lightning had ever seen them.  He was scared to take a breath.  “I was in and out of the hospital for nearly a whole year recovering, thinking only about how great my comeback would be when I got back on the course.  I got all healed up, dragged myself back from hell, and you know what they said to me?  _Scram._ I’d come back from the brink just to get behind the wheel again and they’d already moved onto the next bright-eyed kid who wanted to be famous. _”_

He narrowed his eyes, as if the hotshot racer in front of him was the rookie that replaced him so many years ago.  As if this kid had crashed into the place he called home, the town he had _escaped to,_ just to remind him of how unfair life was and that the sport he had once loved was now overrun by overconfident children who thought they were the bee’s knees just cause they could work a clutch without grinding gears.  Lightning had crashed into his life like a bat to the head and had continued to make an upset ever since.

Doc turned to look at the newspaper clipping, his hardened gaze slipping into pained nostalgia.  Racing had been his everything.  From the hot, dusty days they would be standing on the track from dawn to dusk, from the common rivalry all the racers would find in one another, from every loss to every win he had loved it all.  It was a dangerous sport at times, that he knew and had known.  He couldn’t find anything to blame for the wreck but poor timing on his part.  With how often he took to the track it was amazing it had taken that long for something to happen.  And, well, he had never known how to do something half-way.

The day he’d gone back to the Hudson Racing Co. after he’d gotten the okay from the doctor to get back behind the wheel was a dark memory.  One minute feeling giddy to get back on the track and make up for the season he’d missed, the next making him wish he’d never been able to get out of that hospital bed.  Radiator Springs had been a salvation for him.  A dose of anonymity apart from the pitying looks he got from the racers who knew what happened.  There were good, honest folk here who needed a doctor in town and he had found a small place that he could call home.

So much had happened.  So many good things had happened.  But it seemed his time getting cut short doing the one thing he really loved would always continue to cast a dark cloud over his life.

When he felt the anger drain away, he turned back to the kid that had come barreling into town so recently.  Lightning was dirty with cement dust and sweat, hair up in every direction as well as bags under his eyes.  The racing jacket he’d seemed loathe to take off when he first showed up was tied around his waist instead, the white shirt underneath tinted pink from the dust kicked up by the wind.  He was switching his gaze between the newspaper and Doc with some kind of struggle on his face.

He looked as much of a mess as Doc felt.

“They didn’t want some old washout to make a reappearance,” he said, too tired to fume about it anymore.  “I came here to get away from all of that, from all of _them._ And it looks like it all just followed me here.”

There was a moment of confusion before understanding registered on Lightning’s face, followed by indignation.  “Hey, I’m not like them.”

If Doc had a toothpick in his mouth he would have spit it out with the incredulous huff he made.  “Oh yeah?” he goaded.

“Yeah, I’m not!  I’d never—”

“Tell me something kid,” Doc said, doing his best not to grind his teeth as he felt himself getting worked up again.  “When was the last time you cared about someone other than yourself?”

Lightning looked ready to snap back at him but never got any farther than opening his mouth and making a sort of strangled noise.  He stopped, clenching his fists and looking down at the ground with frustration.

Doc gave a mirthless laugh.  “Yeah.  That’s what I thought.”

“I’m _not_ like that,” the kid insisted.

“Listen up and listen good.  The people in this town?  They’re not like you.  They’re _good_ people.  And I don’t want to see them relying on someone they can’t count on.”  He gave a pointed look before turning back around to the work table, shuffling things around to make noise and signify that he was done with this talk.

“What, like _you?”_

His back went rigid as the kid spoke up behind him, ire laced with the same accusatory tone Doc had taken.

“You’ve lived here how many years?  Gotten to know everyone and get them to think you care but does anyone even _know who you are?”_

Doc didn’t rise to the goading, didn’t even turn around.  “You might see a racer in those trophies, a history long forgotten, but to me it’s just an empty cup.”

The silence in the garage was thick.  Two racers stood with a heavy air between them, Doc refusing to turn around while Lightning glared at his back, willing him to say something more.  Wanting to hear that Doc had been wrong to give up and knowing that he would never hear it.

When he refused to back down, Doc was forced to speak gruffly over his shoulder.  “Better keep working on that wall or else you’ll never get to that big race of yours.”

Lightning was silent for a while longer, not moving to leave before finally saying, “Is this how you live?  Pretending that you weren’t made to do great things by hiding in your garage and lying to your friends?”

“Just _get out.”_

“Fine.  But just so we’re clear, I’m not running away.”

He finally left the garage.  Doc listened to every footstep that took him away until he couldn’t hear them anymore.  The dust that had been kicked up settled on his shoulders like weights as he hung his head.

“And that’s the biggest difference between us.”


	6. Plunge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sally is planning something. Lightning is simultaneously worried and excited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think that because I figured out the chapter cap for this story I deserve to be cut some slack for updating this chapter a little late.  
> Don't look at me. The shame might spread.

“What wouldja like, sweetie?” Flo said happily, not bothering to hold a notepad.

Lightning gave her a grateful look and glanced at the laminated menu once more to confirm his decision.  “Got any more pancakes?  And coffee?”

She took the menu with a wink.  “Coming right up.”

“ _Pancakes?”_ Lizzie said with a scoff and jabbed at him.  “What you need is some grits to keep those big arms of yours nice and strong.”

Everyone at the table chuckled.  “You should try the vegetarian menu sometime,” Fillmore said from the table next to theirs, “it’s great for the metabolism.”

“Bah!” Sarge said, pounding his fist on the table.  “You don’t need anything fancy to fill you up!  Back in the war we used to eat SOS for every meal and we were in top condition!”

Ramone raised an eyebrow.  “SOS?  Do I wanna know?”

Mater grinned.  “That’s that Sauce-ayed Onion Sausage, ain’t it?”

“I think you mean sautéed…”

“I thought SOS meant ‘Save Our Ship’.”

“So you ate boats in the war?”

“Well hey, a gravy boat don’t sound like a meal by itself!”

“You kids are always eating all those processed foods these days!  I’ve made every one of my suppers for myself since I was thirteen years old!”

“Sorry, Lizzie, Flo’s cooking is just so good.”

“I can’t even make toast.  I woulda starved if she weren’t around.”

Lightning chuckled as he listened to everyone chat, exchanging an amused look with Red as they got going.  The big guy was happy to just listen to everyone talking, sipping on the large glass of milk and munching on the plate of hash browns in front of him.  The fire rating was high today so his phone was sitting on the table so it would be obvious if it went off.

The racer had woken up a bit late that morning, sleeping in since there was no one to wake him up early and feeling less rushed to get back to work since he was nearing the home stretch.  Most of the wall was done.  He needed to finish that up though and then repair the roof above it, which was a whole different ball park, but a manageable one from what he could tell.  Even if he worked at a snail’s pace for the rest of the day he’d easily be finished in time for dinner.  Sheriff hadn’t bothered to come pick him up again, instead just telling him the night before to meet him at Flo’s once he was up and about.  Lightning appreciated being given the time to wake up and get some breakfast before standing out in the sun again.  Sheriff had come in soon after he had and was now drinking his own cup of coffee as he read the newspaper.  It was a lazy morning and Lightning found he didn’t mind.

“Hey is that Sally?”

“What’s she doing?”

He followed everyone’s eyes to outside the diner where Sally had pulled up on an ATV.  She was wearing old jeans, worn cowboy boots, a flannel shirt, and had her hair pulled up into a ponytail.  The look was surprisingly flattering on her.  They all watched rather than calling out, as she seemed to be focused on whatever it was she was doing.  After parking she got off and instead of coming into the diner she turned down the road and walked back the way she’d came.

Everyone was confused.

“Think she’s comin’ back?”

“Maybe she just left it there for later?”

“Here’s your food!”

Flo set Lightning’s plate in front of him.  There were two pancakes, piping hot from the griddle with a square of butter on the top slowly melting over them.  The coffee came next, poured fresh from the pot.

He grinned at the plate then at Flo as he unwound the silverware from a paper napkin.  “Thanks!  This looks amazing!”

She set her hand on her hip, the other still holding the coffee pot as she looked at the spread she’d made for everyone proudly.  “You’re right it does.  Taste’s amazing too.  Why don’t you try it?”  Flo started filling up everyone else’s cups as he cut into the breakfast.

Ramone smiled up at her with a look of adoration as she topped off his mug.  “My baby’s the best.”

She winked at him.  “And don’t you forget it.”

He seemed to melt and the others chuckled at the two of them.  They chatted easily, chewing breakfast leisurely.  Even if he wasn’t part of the conversations that were going on, Lightning somehow still felt included in them.  Maybe it was how people were talking over him but not ignoring his presence.  Maybe it was how everyone had chosen to sit in the same area and he’d been invited over when he’d walked in that morning.  He couldn’t say for sure, but it was relaxing.

As he was finishing up the pancakes, the sound of an engine outside caught people’s attention again.

“Where’d she get _another_ ATV?”

“She has two now?”

“Che cosa?  Perché?”

“What he said.”

As Sally got off the other ATV and walked inside with her helmet under one arm, she had a good deal of the town’s eyes on her.  Letting the door swing behind her, she was greeted by everyone all at once.

She smiled back at them all, tucking a loose bit of hair behind her ear.  “Morning folks.”

“Want anything to eat, sweetie?” Flo asked, having sat down after everyone was settled but prepared to get back up again.

Sally quickly waved her off before she could bother herself.  “No, I had something already.  I’m just here to pick someone up.”

It took Lightning a fair deal of time before he realized she was looking at him.  He blinked at her.  “Me?”

She rolled her eyes, jutting her hip out and placing her hand there in a similar fashion to how Flo had before.  “Yes, you.  What, you got something better to do?”

“Uh…I sort of have some community service that needs finishing.”  He looked over to the Sheriff, who noticed the glance and shrugged back at him.

“Do what you want.  I wouldn’t mind taking a break.”  With that he snapped the newspaper he was reading slightly, as if to signify that was all he was going to contribute to this.

She noticed that Lightning still looked undecided.  “It’s not going to take all day.  We’ll probably be back before three so you’ll still have plenty of daylight to work on your little project.”

He frowned at her for a moment longer before his gaze switched to Mater, who quickly gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up.  Sally had to stifle a snicker at the look he gave the other but was ultimately thankful when the blond stood up from the booth.

“Yeah, okay, what could it hurt, right?”

“Right.”  She dug into her pocket and pulled out one of the keychains.  Tossing the keys to him caused more than one shocked expression.

“Hey now!” Sheriff said, a scowl on his face.  “I might not care what he does with the day but that don’t mean I trust him not to run off with his hands on a set of wheels.”

Sally didn’t hesitate to send an assuring smile at him.  “Don’t worry about it, Sheriff.”  She turned the look to Lightning, who still seemed surprised with the keys he’d been handed.  Her gaze softened just slightly.  “I trust him.”

He returned the look with a hesitant smile of his own.

She waved him toward the door.  “Come on, Patches, while we still have daylight to spare.”

A chuckle followed after her.  “You guys have more daylight than I know what to do with here.”

There was no stopping the laugh she gave in agreement.

They got on the ATVs, pulled their helmets on, and she gave him a quick lesson on how to drive.  He had seemed confused at first about the idea of controlling the gas and brakes on the handlebars.  It was fairly easy anyway but he caught on quickly and she felt confident that he could handle it once they got going.

Leading him out onto the road, she tried to ignore all the eyes on them through the windows to the diner.  Hearing Lightning rev up behind her, she turned right down main street and went a bit before realizing she didn’t hear the second engine anymore.  Rolling to a stop, she checked behind her to see Lightning had stopped at the turn, staring down the road that met up with the Interstate.

She frowned for only a moment before checking there were no cars coming and circling back around to catch his attention once more.  “Hey Patches!” she called, “You comin’?”

When he turned back to her, he was smiling.  “Yeah, coming.”  Grinning back, she led him out of town, his ATV pulling up alongside her own since there wasn’t anyone else on the street.  “Where are we going?” he asked once they’d left the buildings behind.

“You’ll see!”  She revved playfully, shooting him a devious smile.  He seemed surprised but revved back.  With a laugh, she hit the gas, pulling ahead quickly.

“Hey!” she heard him call after her.

She laughed back at him.  “What’s wrong, Patches?  Too fast for you?”

“Oh _please!”_

Sally had been on this path plenty of times in her life.  When she felt particularly happy, sad, frustrated, or just nostalgic.  The long, winding road did wonders for her no matter what kind of mood she was in.

Every curve of the asphalt was so natural it felt effortless to follow the snaking path.  The switchbacks reminded her of Willy’s Butte, the way it felt like she was driving on the wall.  She’d done this drive in her Porsche with the windows all rolled down and her arm hanging out the side of the door but she preferred the feeling of the air running through her hair naturally like this.  The smell of hot, dusty air was somewhat dampened as they entered the trees.  There wasn’t enough greenery to call it a forest but the fresh air and shade that came from them was a nice change from the unforgiving desert sun.

The red rocks the region was known for still stretched upwards on one side while the trees hugged the walls and drop offs.  Not a cloud in the sky would mean a day filled with water bottles and air conditioners in town.  But on the road it meant sunscreen and driving just a little faster to keep the wind whipping at just the right temperature.

They came across her favorite part of the drive and she made sure to shoot Lightning an excited look.  She wouldn’t admit it but she was sort of hoping that he saw the same beauty in this place that she did.  They passed under the arch and she leaned her head back to watch the way the red stone stood out against the bright blue sky.  The brief moment of shadow allowed her to take a breath before following the path to the waterfall.

The first time she’d driven this way the sight of the falls was unexpected and she’d felt liked she’d been transported.  Even knowing it was there, every time she turned that corner she still had her breath taken away.  The bright sun bounced around the spray of the water, making it seem like the air shone gold in the places where rainbows hadn’t formed.  The trees that grew here were like emeralds.  Precious jewels in this hidden box of beauty.

Her eyes followed the water even as she steered the ATV along the path to the bridge as if by muscle memory.  The curve of the road allowed her to look back and see Lightning behind her.  He’d slowed down, eyes following the cascading water until they met eyes.  He seemed completely entranced.

Sally’s heart stuttered a bit.  She grinned at him and took off on the road again, fully expecting him to follow her.

He didn’t disappoint.

The road led up further all the way up to the cliffs where she finally slowed.  The sound of Lightning’s ATV came up behind her.

“Wow, what is this place?”  He sounded out of breath.  She felt a fair bit of pride in her home for managing that.

She turned her attention back to the building they had stopped by, her gaze taking on a nostalgic sadness.  “This is the Wheel Well.  It used to be the biggest stop on Route 66 years ago.”  Turning the motor off, she pulled her helmet off and sat it on the seat.  There were a few water bottles she’d tied down to the grate on the back and while they were likely warm by now she still got two out for them.

Lightning was getting off as well but his eyes were still on the dilapidated building.  “ _This_ place?”

Chuckling, she tossed a water to him, which he caught easily and immediately started draining.  “Yeah, this place.  Can you imagine?”  She walked over to the old gas pump.  It was rusted shut, though there probably wasn’t any gas left over anyway.

Lightning had wandered over to the windows, so dirty and warped over the years that she doubted he could see anything through them.

“ _Yeah,”_ he said and she could hear the sarcasm in his voice from twenty feet away.  She snorted, not allowing her good mood to be spoiled by his depreciation for history.  “So, how does a valley girl like you end up in Radiator Springs?”

The question came out of nowhere for her, so she was caught off guard.  “I’m not a valley girl,” she said first, unable to keep the hint of disdain from her voice.  “I’m from California, originally, but I haven’t been there in years.”  She grew pensive, brushing her hand over some vintage embossing on the metal work of the hotel.  “Honestly, there’s not much to say.  I grew up there with my family, started learning about the law because that’s what made money and earned respect.  I worked as a state lawyer for a while and I was doing really well for myself.  Everything was looking up for my future and yet…”  Remembering that time seemed so distant now.  It wasn’t what had been happening to her or around her that made it sad but rather recalling the kind of person she’d been.  She couldn’t help but feel bad for that younger Sally and that made her stomach twist uncomfortably.  “It was never…happy.”

Lightning was silent but she didn’t look at him to judge his expression.  He could think whatever he wanted about her choice to leave that life of the rich and the famous.  Maybe it worked for him but she had decided long ago that she was tired of it and didn’t want to go back.

“So one day I just decided I had enough.”  She walked through the beams that held up the second-floor patio, playfully weaving through them.  “I packed up some of my things, hopped in my car, and just drove.  Eventually I ran out of gas just outside of town and ended up walking the rest of the way to find help and, well, you know what it’s like walking around out there for too long.”  She could hear him grumbling behind her and smiled.  “Doc treated me for heat flash when I showed up, Mater towed my car into town, and Flo took me in, helped me put myself back together.”  She stopped, finally turning back to look at him.  Lightning’s eyes were stuck fast to her.  Sally smiled.  “So, I never left.”

He frowned.  “But, you never even thought about leaving?  I mean, it’s nice to slow down now and then, but didn’t you ever want to just jump back into it all?”

She considered him for a moment.  It had been days and she still wasn’t sure what was so interesting about this cocky boy.  Originally she’d thought it had been that he reminded her of herself back before coming to Radiator Springs, but she had never been as bullheaded as he was.  She had thought maybe it was that after he’d gotten over himself he was easy to tease.  It was only then, standing in the abandoned remains of the Wheel Well that she realized what it really was.  Despite how he acted so confident with everything he did, and the brashness with which he would jump into things, there was a sort of earnestness to him that was almost easy to overlook.  It showed in the way he’d so easily befriended Mater, and the care with which he’d patterned the wall on the community center.  It showed in how he’d integrated with the town so quickly—it hadn’t been a full week and they were already inviting him to breakfast—and the way he kept going to Willy’s Butte to practice on the dirt track.

Smiling softly, she took his hand and guided him to the edge of the cliff, where a wooden fence had been erected some fifty odd years ago.  “I stayed because I fell in love with this.”

The sun was hitting its peak, making sure that the whole county was bathed in a light that couldn’t be found as bright anywhere else in America.  The rolling hills seemed to fold in on one another, the little ribbon of grey road dipping and weaving between them as it led all the way down to the little corner where Radiator Springs was planted.  Far below, the little town seemed almost miniscule in the wide stretch of land, where the squat buildings stayed huddled together like flowers in the shade.  From their vantage point, they could see the falls, the oasis it had created below, and the majority of the trail they’d taken to get up to the Wheel Well.

“Wow,” Lightning breathed.

“Yeah,” she agreed.

“Look there’s the Interstate!”  He pointed to it, as if she’d never noticed it before.  “They’re driving right by all this.  They don’t even know what they’re missing!”

She huffed.  “You know, it wasn’t always like that.  Before the interstate, Route 66 used to be one of the most popular places to go driving.  And Radiator Springs was like a jewel on the necklace of that string of road.  That was back when people drove to have a good time, not just to get from one place to another, you know?”

“Huh,” he said in response, eyebrows still crinkled as he thought.

Sally leaned against the fence, careful in case the wood had rotted since the last time she’d been up there.  “It’s not like that anymore.  People rarely drive through the Springs anymore.  Just when they need to fill up on gas or accidentlly set their GPS wrong.  But at one point in time, Radiator Springs must have been so incredible.  All those neon signs, all the people.  Flo’s told me about it, how the diner would be hopping and she wouldn’t have enough hands to be cooking, serving, and knocking off men who were trying to make passes at her.”  She laughed lightly, thinking about her maternal figure fondly.  “Mater says he used to sing and dance during karaoke nights, Sarge would do fireworks displays, Luigi and Guido would have so much work to do that they’d race each other to see who could finish working on a car first.”  She sighed.  “What I wouldn’t give to see everyone like that again.”

“Happy?” he asked, looking away from the scenery and to her.

She looked at him, amusement dancing in her eyes.  “Do we seem unhappy to you?”

That seemed to take him off guard, breaking eye contact to look down at the town again.  “No, you really don’t.”


	7. Time for a Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lightning is determined to make sure his last day in Radiator Springs is memorable. What happens isn't exactly what he had in mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am currently falling asleep so if there's something wrong with the grammar I'll fix it tomorrow.

“Shh, shh!  Everybody act natural!”

“Cool it, will ya!”

“Don’t move, don’t move!”

Lightning could barely keep in a laugh as everybody positioned themselves so he was hidden from view.  They were so ridiculous!  And he found himself having so much fun with it.  After he’d been around town, hopping in and out of everyone’s stores and feeling so very glad that he memorized his credit card number, everyone had gotten excited for the evening.  Sally had gone off to the next town over and was gone for the majority of the day, allowing him to put his plan into action and convince a good chunk of the town to help him out.  He had almost forgotten how antagonistic they had been when he had first come into town with how nice everyone was being now.

He heard Sally’s car door close and the tapping of her shoes as she approached the group of people loitering in front of the community center.  She stopped.

“Good evening miss Sally!” several parroted at her.

Sally laughed.  “Evening.  What are you folks all doing here?”

Mater cleared his throat.  “Introduciiiiing!  The new and improved, Lightning McQueen!”

The small crowd parted and Lightning took his cue, strutting forward with all the confidence he normally saved for cameras and the like.  He saw Sally’s eyes widen as she took him in and couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

“Oh wow, Patches, look at you!”

He chuckled, flicking his jacket, doing a short spin, and cocking his best “heartbreaker smile” at her.  She laughed at his antics but she was obviously jubilant so he circled her, still strutting and showing off as Sally and the rest of the town cat called him and gave encouraging words.  Lightning couldn’t stop the grin on his face if he tried.

“Radiator Springs looks good on you!” she said, not having stopped looking him up and down since he revealed himself.

He had been out and about all day.  Ordering tires and parts from Luigi and Guido’s shop, going through a majority of the surplus at Sarge’s, listening to Fillmore go on about organic vegetables and salt crystals, buying a whole tote filled with Radiator Springs knick-knacks, and hitting up the shops for new clothes and shoes.  His dirty racing uniform had been taken by Flo at some point with the promise of running it through the wash three times and he had gotten himself new threads with Ramone’s help.  He now had a black t-shirt tucked into new jeans, bright red sneakers, with a white and red jacket on.  Which he really shouldn’t be wearing right now due to Ramone’s instructions but he couldn’t help himself, it just looked too cool.

“Wow,” Sally’s voice had gotten a little quieter.  “Did you…help everyone in town?”

He grinned back.  “Sure did.  Oh, check it out!”  He pulled the jacket halfway off so that his bicep was showing.

“Oh my god!  You got a tattoo?!”

Ramone chipped in at that.  “Heck yeah, baby!  Look at how good that looks!”

Sally laughed.  “It looks a little red, Patches.”

“Yeah, it still needs to heal.  But it looks good right?”

She appraised the image carefully.  It wasn’t too large but covered a decent amount of skin.  Between a good chunk of the town someone had managed to look up what his stock car looked like and printed it out to bring into Ramone’s shop.  From there he’d drawn up a sketch while Lightning was out and about, then the two of them had sat down where Lightning gave his input and the sketch was finalized.  From there, he’d made himself comfortable and the two had chatted while Ramone worked on putting the sketch on his skin.

The red of the car was currently enhanced by his skin being inflamed.  The bolt of lightning shined with the lotion he’d been given to keep it clean with.  The color was a bit off and the proportions skewed with his puffed up skin, but it was easy to tell that it was good quality.

“Put that bandage back on!  You’re gonna get an infection, man!” Ramone scolded after everyone had gotten a good look at his handywork.  Lightning did as he was told, fitting the jacket back on over it as well.

Sally grabbed his lapels, her eyes glittering happily.  “You sure are something, Patches.”

Lightning felt his heart beating hard in his chest, grinning down at her.  “You haven’t seen nothing yet.”  He cleared his throat and said in a louder voice, “Hey, is it getting dark out?”

It was, the sun having touched the horizon a few minutes ago and riding out the last of the day.  The street lights had turned on already.  They waited a few seconds, Sally raising an eyebrow at him as Lightning frowned.  He looked over to the curio shop where Lizzie was looking around in confusion.

He sighed and tried again.  “I _said,_ IS IT GETTING DARK OUT?!”

Lizzie saw him, stared for a minute, and waved.  He was about to go over and flip the switch himself when Red did it for him, crossing the street in only a few quick steps and turning on the lights.

The town lit up.  Each and every store had a sign that he hadn’t even noticed until Sally had pointed them out the other day, lined with lights that hadn’t been touched but were intricate and retro.  It was his first time seeing them on too, so he watched as the whole of main street had its neon turned on.  Bright colors lit up the street, pouring over to the community center, where the lights on the outdoor patio lit up.  Flo’s sign started a slow spin, Luigi’s leaning tower of tires was lit from inside like a jack-o-lantern, Fillmore’s whole tent seemed to glow and right beside it Sarge’s sign seemed to be animated.  It was an incredible sight.

Lightning turned his smile back to Sally, seeing the lights reflected out of her eyes as she seemed to be transported to the past.  She looked so happy right then.

“You guys fixed your neon!  The town looks so beautiful!”  She turned to Lightning, who felt his heart speed up.  “Did you do all this?”

“I might have mentioned to everybody that it was a damn shame their lights didn’t work anymore and that it might be kinda cool to see them all fixed.”

She gave a soft snort, but the appreciation in her eyes was in no way diminished.  “Thank you, Lightning.”

He just grinned back at her.  “My pleasure.”

There was an ungodly screeching sound for a moment, making everyone cover their ears and turn around to where Luigi and Guido were arguing over the CD player.  The Sheriff was quick to set them straight and get the player going.

A jazzy, classic rock tune came out over the speakers, perfect for a nice night and the retro feel that the lights were giving off.  Ramone and Flo quickly paired up, dancing casually with one another and smiling at each other happily.  The others were laughing and chatting, admiring the lights as other townsfolk heard the music and came out to see what was going on.

Lightning offered his hand to Sally with a smile.  She raised an eyebrow at him but was still smiling back.  Just as she was about to take it, Lightning was pulled away by a talon-like hand with surprising strength.

Lizzie didn’t waste any time pulling him into a weird dance, her gums flapping the whole time as Lightning was forced to hold her hands and keep up with her.  “It’s been a while since I’ve seen the town like this!  You know, I was here when those lights first got installed.  All that fancy junk and I said ‘Bah!  It’ll blow over!’ but you know what, it didn’t!  Stanley told me that everyone would have them by the end of the year but I was a stubborn lass back then.  He could be stubborn too though, let me tell you!  Have I ever told you how we met?  Stanley was a good-looking boy back then.  Just like you, hot rod!”

He sent Sally a suffering look, which was met with a great deal of laughter.  Lizzie kept talking but he only had eyes for Sally, who stopped to chat with a couple of the other residents.  He was so focused on watching her and making noises of affirmation toward Lizzie that he didn’t even notice Mater until he had the larger man’s arm around his shoulders.

“Stealin’ ‘im Lizzie!  I’ll return ‘im later!” was shouted behind them as he was suddenly steered through the small crowd of people dancing now.  A couple nearly backed into them and Mater spun Lightning away with a snort-laugh.  When Lightning caught himself Sally was standing next to him.

“Thanks Mater!” she called as he jumped back into the group of dancers.

“No problem, miss Sally!” he said back, giving a very obvious wink towards the two of them.

“Well Patches, would you like to dance?”

“It would be my honor.”

Lightning had never danced before, but Sally took it in stride.  Probably because she also didn’t seem to know what she was doing.  They didn’t really care, instead just stepping to the music and having fun.  There were slow songs, more jazzy songs like the first one that played, and a few country songs that people would line up and dance to.  Sally knew those ones and had attempted a few times to teach Lightning, but he was having more fun standing off to the side and clapping with a few other people to the beat.

They were back on a slow song and they had managed to copy the other couples around them fairly well.  Both were a little stiff at first but relaxed part way into the song.  Their faces were _very_ close together and it was taking everything Lightning had not to just lean down and kiss her.

“Is that what I think it is?”

Sally let out a sigh at Flo’s comment, leaning into him more so that what they were doing could barely even be called dancing anymore.  “I don’t know, Flo, but I am going to find out.”

“No, not that!”  Sally was so close when Flo snapped her fingers between them and pointed.  “ _That!”_

The two jumped away from each other suddenly with the snap and, despite being disgruntled at being interrupted, looked down the street where Flo had motioned to.  Far down the street, on the road coming from the freeway, were headlights.  _Lots_ of headlights.

“Customers!” Flo said excitedly and that caught _everyone’s_ attention.  She clapped her hands and turned back around to address everyone.  “Alright everyone, you know what to do!  Get back to your stores, make sure your lights are on and you’re as welcoming as possible.”

Something seemed wrong.  Lightning squinted, trying to figure out how long the line of headlights was.  “That’s a lot of cars.”

Suddenly, they were blinded and a moment later the sound of a helicopter was heard over the sound of the music still playing.  Mater was shouting, as were some of the other folks, but Lightning heard only one thing at that moment.

“We found him!” was shouted over some kind of speaker from above them.  “We found Lightning McQueen!”

It was about then that the cars, which were now recognized as news vans, all made it to them.

Doors were opening and closing, people rushing to get cameras and microphones together, reporters straightening their car ruffled outfits and hurrying forward.  There were flashes of cameras and suddenly many voices all trying to be heard over one another.

“McQueen!  McQueen!  Have you been here the whole time?”

“McQueen!  Are you forfeiting the tiebreaker race?”

“McQueen!  Is it true you’ve been in rehab?”

“Did you have a nervous breakdown, McQueen?”

Lightning had to put his hand up, all the flashing cameras and the helicopter’s spotlight still on him were making him go blind.  Everyone’s words were mixing together so that he couldn’t think straight.  “I-I’m sorry, what?  I can’t—I’m not sure what you—Sally?”  He looked to his side, where she had been standing just moments before and found her missing.

His heart plummeted, accented by someone getting too close with their camera and making him see stars for a few seconds.

“Patches!  McQ—Lightning!”

He turned toward her voice.  Even among the din of everyone else, she was the only person who called him Patches.  “Sally?  Sally!  Where are you?”

“McQueen!  Are you still going to race for the Piston cup?”

“G-guys, can you give me a little space here?”

“McQueen!”

“McQueen!”

“McQueen!”

A loud honking made a good deal of the people stop and have to cover their ears, including Lightning himself.  A red car was parting the crowd, keeping up its horn to force people to get out of the way until it was up against the curb.  Lightning recognized the car immediately.

“Mack?” he said, hurrying over.  The last time he had seen Mack was when he was driving away from the gas station, leaving Lightning behind and not even realizing it.

As expected, Mack jumped out.  “You’re here!  I’m so glad to see you, kiddo!  Aw man, you don’t know what this past week has been like.  We’ve been looking all over for you!  I’m so sorry I left you behind!  I promise it won’t happen again!”

“Aw, man, I’m so glad to see you here Mack!  How did you…”  He stopped at the previous comment.  “Wait, we?”

“Me and Harv!  Oh yeah, that’s right!”  Mack dug into his pocket and pulled out a very familiar phone.  “Man, the amount of times I called this thing before I realized it was in the back seat is embarrassing!”

Lightning accepted his phone, glad to have it back.  “Man, Mack, I-I don’t know what to say, I—”  The phone in his hand went off and Lightning hurried to check the caller, grinning when he saw the ID.  He clicked the button to answer, faintly noticing that Mack had switched into bouncer mode and was staving off the reporters.  “Harv?  Harv is that you?”

“Is that the fastest racer on the planet I’m talking to?”

Lightning leaned against the car, feeling a little overwhelmed by everything that was happening.  “Harv!  Oh, wow, how are you doing?”

“How am I doing?  _How am I doing?_ My star racer disappears off the face of the Earth for _days_ with no warning or clue to where he went.  _How do you think I’m doing?”_

Feeling his stomach drop, Lightning scrambled for something to say.  “I-I can explain Harv, it was all just a big misunderstand—”

“I’m doing _great!”_

He stopped.  “Huh?”

“ _Everybody’s_ talking about you, kid!  You can’t _buy_ this kind of publicity!  You’re the talk of every TV, radio, and newspaper on the planet!  Aw man, you’re a genius kid, a genius!  Hiding out in the middle of nowhere and letting everybody sweat.  Wish I’d thought of it!  Seriously though, I can’t even find you on the map!  Where are you?”

“Oh, I’m in this great little town called Radiator—”

“Yeah, right, that’s great, kid.  Listen, we need to get you back on the road to Cali _now._ You’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for in practice and if you get here tonight you’ve only got a day to get used to the track before the big race.  Now this whole stunt was great and all, but I’d really appreciate it if you don’t throw the race for me, capiche?”

Right, he needed to leave.  He needed to…

Right now?

“Um, can you give me a minute?”

Harv did not want to give him a minute, which was made very clear by the long string of loud words coming from the speaker that Lightning pulled away from his ear.

The realization had hit him like a ton of bricks.  Hammered home when he noticed Sally had managed to weave around everyone and was hiding behind Mack’s car, waiting for him to notice her.  Glancing to make sure that Mack still had things handled, Lightning slipped around to her.  With the car between them and the reporters, things felt marginally more private, but rushed.

All the joy and delight in her eyes that had been there earlier was gone now.  Instead there was a sad sort of acceptance there that he hated seeing.  He tried to say something, anything, but couldn’t think of what he could say in this situation.  She waited for him.

“Sally…I-I wish I could…I _want_ to…”  He couldn’t seem to get anything to come out of his mouth.  Nothing that wouldn’t be a lie or something he couldn’t hold himself to.

She gave him a smile, a mere shadow of the ones he had seen on her earlier that night.  “It’s okay.  I understand.”  She took a breath.  “Thank you.  For everything.”

He wasn’t sure what he was feeling right then.  “It’s just a wall.”

The look she gave him was almost pitying, but also thankful.  “No, it was much more than that.”

As he tried to figure out what she meant by that she backed off, the space she left almost immediately being filled by reporters.  He tried to keep track of her, but Mack had only been able to hold back a handful and the others were swarming like hyenas.  It was like trying to locate a feather that was dropped into a stadium of raging bulls.

“Sally!” he called out, hoping she might look back at him, hoping she might say something that…well…that what?  Convinced him to stay?  Saying that she’d come with him to California?  He wasn’t sure what he wanted her to say.  He just didn’t want her to leave.

Lightning winced under the glare of the many flashing cameras, like fireworks going off too early as they were lit.  They left spots in his eyes and the voices of the paparazzi were a constant buzz that left a numb feeling in his ears _._ The only other sound that cut through the white noise was Harv’s outraged voice coming through the speaker on his phone.  Cameras had never bothered him before.  He’d sought them out every chance he could get, in fact.  To be the center of attention, to be the one everyone was looking for, looking up to, looking forward to.

But now that they’d found him he couldn’t want to be any further away.

He looked past the microphones being shoved into his face and the red lights on the sides of the cameras telling him this was all being recorded.  Harv was saying to get in the car _right now_ but his voice was quickly becoming background noise.  He couldn’t care less about his image for the public right now.  There was only one person he wanted to see.

“Sally!” he called out once more, but it was as if she’d been swallowed up by the crowd.  He felt his heart squeeze at the thought that he’d let her down.  Again.

Another flash, close enough to his face that he was momentarily blinded.  As his vision cleared he could see Red, still the tallest person around even with all the new people here.  His mussed, red hair stuck out easily in the crowd.  His eyes were darting around and he was flapping his hands with all the rowdy people about, unsure what to do while the others were being pushed around in a similar way, only visible by the tops of their heads.

This isn’t what he wanted.

Lightning had been backed up against the car.  The paparazzi closed in, like wild dogs to their prey.  He glanced back to his friends once more before getting into the car and shutting the door quickly.

Everyone’s voices were muffled, a couple of the close reporters still firing a few questions in hopes he’d roll down the window.  The car smelled almost new, only the scent of the last drive-through burger he’d had in there lingering.  There was a divider between the backseat and the front, the glass tinted as if he were in a limo instead of a four-door.  He took a moment to breathe.

The divider slid open, making him jump before realizing it was just Mack, who still had that pleased look on his face.

“Heheh!  Took a bit of a detour there but it looks like we’re back on track, eh?” he said jovially, adjusting his rearview mirror as he said so.

“Um, yeah, I guess so,” Lightning agreed, not really putting his heart into it.  How could he when he hadn’t been given any sort of closure?  Closure he wasn’t even sure he wanted.  No, this was for the cup.  He needed to leave to get to the race.  To win…

To win what?

He felt his stomach sink as Mack continued chatting, heedless of the emotional turmoil Lightning was going through in the backseat.  “Hoo boy you shoulda seen everyone’s faces when I pulled up and you weren’t there.  Heck, you shoulda seen _my_ face!  When did you disappear anyhow?  How’d you end up _here_ of all places?”  Mack turned the key and the engine came to life.

Lightning couldn’t make himself relax.  Couldn’t take his eyes off the glass on the window in hopes that he’d get another glance at Mater or Luigi.  He only registered the last few of Mack’s words.  “Uh, um, bus.”

“A _bus?_ How’d you wind up on a _bus?!”_

The embarrassment of what happened rose up once again.  He’d felt like a kid getting left at the store and waiting for his parents to realize he was missing.  It felt like so long ago.  Like the kid who had kicked angrily at the light post that went crashing down into the community center was someone else.  He was an idiot; he knew that now.  All he’d ever done was act all high and mighty toward everyone who was ever nice to him and all he’d been left with was a deep set feeling of shame.

Here Mack was, genuinely happy to see he was okay and a week ago he had been ready to dismiss him without a second thought.

He was such an ass.

Mack was about to pull back onto the road when his phone went off loudly.  He pulled it out and got off a quick “Hey—” before wincing at the voice on the receiver.

Lightning looked down at his own cellphone.  Harv had hung up, apparently having grown tired of Lightning not answering him.  The number of times they had met face to face could be counted on two hands, and last week Lightning had considered the guy his closest friend.  Comparing him and Mater now seemed like trying to convince someone that an old Fiat was just as good as a brand-new Audi.

Though knowing Mater he’d probably just say something like a Fiat just had good character.

“I think he wants to talk to you,” Mack said, passing the phone through the little window with a pitying wince.

With a sigh, Lightning accepted it, sending one more searching look out the windows for his friends.  He couldn’t see any of them, either because there were too many people or they had given up on sticking around.  Mack closed the window with another quick smile before they left the parking lot.  The neon lights from everyone’s stores reflected off the tinted glass.  They passed by the community building and Lightning took a moment to appreciate his shoddy workmanship one more time before it was out of sight.

The thought that he might never return made his chest tighten.  Everyone had only kept him around so that he could fix the wall but now that it was done and he had other things to do he was sure no one would wait up for him.  They’d go back to living their lives.  And he’d go back to his.

All the lights and expectations, the cheers and responsibility, all the fame and popularity he had built up for himself over the years: it had all never felt quite so caging as it did now.  It had never felt so heavy on his shoulders as it did while he watched the neon glow from Radiator Springs fade away while Mack drove them back to the interstate.

He could hear Harv’s increasingly annoyed voice coming from Mack’s phone again.  There was no turning back.  This was what he wanted.  Getting to California, winning the Piston Cup, becoming the youngest racer to ever win was what he _wanted._

Right?


	8. Go Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lightning can't stop thinking of Radiator Springs. Turns out, they couldn't stop thinking of him either.

“So Lightning, I’ve been thinking about your _catchphrase_ recently.”  Chick said ‘catchphrase’ like Lightning would have said ‘cornbread’ a week ago.  Well, scratch that.  The idea of bread being made out of corn still sounded horrendous and stupid to him, but Sarge had sworn to him that with a bit of butter on top it was more like a cake bread than anything.  He was still not sold on the idea, but Sarge wouldn’t lie to him.

Getting lost in his thoughts about cornbread and all the other things he thought Sarge might have questionable tastes about, he forgot that Chick was still talking to him.

“He-LLO?!  That was a jab!  A goad?  You tryin’ to be like ol’ Weathers and pretend you don’t hear me?  I mean, he’s got the excuse of needing hearing aids but I didn’t think you’d wither so soon.  Then again, it might be that you’re just stuck in your own bubble and can’t hear anyone else’s voice but your own.”  Chick smirked at him, crossing his arms.  His grass green suit was covered from ankles to wrists with patches from a hundred different sponsors.  The guy wasn’t the nicest person to talk to but he was constantly on camera if only because he barged his way in there all the time and had a habit of drawing attention to himself, good or bad.  His signature mustache looked to be freshly groomed.  Lightning vaguely thought that Sheriff’s larger, slightly more unkempt mustache seemed more natural and Chick’s almost looked glued on in comparison.

“Oh, uh, yeah.  What you said.”  Lightning really couldn’t care what Chick was saying at the moment.  Nothing he ever said was good or helpful anyways and Lightning had more important things to think about at the moment.  Lots of things.  Too many things.  His head hurt.

He was here at the Los Angeles International Speedway for the biggest race of his _entire_ career.  Here he would set records.  Here he would go down in history.  Here he would win his first _Piston Cup._ So why couldn’t he _focus?_

Thinking about the speedway and its rigorous turns turned into red dirt and an overhanging butte.  Focusing on the sound of revving engines made him hear Sally’s laughter up ahead as he tried to catch up on the ATV.  Clearing his mind reminded him of quiet suddenly ripped apart by the sound of a blowhorn and a snorting laughter.  His stomach rumbling made him think of missing breakfast and how badly he had wanted to try one of Flo’s omelets.

Come _on_ Lightning!  Head in the game!  _You are Speed.  Faster than fast.  Quicker than quick.  Float like a Cadillac—_

_“Was that floating like a Cadillac or stinging like a Beemer?”_

Lightning groaned, straight out ignoring whatever Chick was saying to him and banging his head against the roof of his stock car.  It was like his body was in Los Angles but his head was still stuck in Radiator Springs.  This might be the single most important day of his life and he couldn’t even get his thoughts in the same state he was in.  What was wrong with him?

“Hey, uh, you okay there, boss?” Mack said over the radio.

His heart swelled a little.  God, he owed _so much_ to Mack.  From introducing him to Rusty and Dusty, to chatting with him to and from every race he went to, to cheering him on even when he was being a jerk, to tracking him down when he’d gotten lost in a one-stop town in the middle of nowhere Mack had _always_ been there for him.  When they had arrived at the speedway, Lightning remembered that his whole pit team had quit at the end of his last race and nearly panicked.  Mack had offered to be his entire pit crew for the race.  They had agreed Lightning wouldn’t change his tires during the race—hey, going without any had _nearly_ worked for him last time—and he would only stop for gas when he absolutely needed it.  Mack was completely untrained in changing tires beyond the few spares he’d replaced in his lifetime so Lightning would just have to be as careful as possible to prevent his tires blowing out again.  Mack had also tentatively offered to act as his crew chief for the event as well, but Lightning had gone without one for most of the season now and was used to radio silence whereas having commands and observations given to him by someone who wasn’t as familiar with the job might end up doing more harm than good.

With everything that Mack was doing for him, Lightning was having a hard time coming up with some way to show him how much it meant to him.

“I’ll be fine,” he said over the mic, hoping to convince himself at the same time.

“Are you nervous?”

Was he?  No, actually, there was a worryingly low amount of nervousness and excitement in him at the moment.  He generally couldn’t get rid of the energy in his veins for days before a race, but now he felt frustratingly little.  Knowing he should be excited and not feeling it just exasperated the feeling more.

“Yeah, I guess so,” he lied.

“Don’t worry!  I’m here for you!  I’ve, uh, never done any of this before, you know, but I’m going to do my darndest to get you in that winner’s circle before the end of the day!”

Lightning couldn’t help but chuckle at the enthusiasm in his voice.  “Thanks buddy.  Where would I be without you?”

“Probably still back in that little town we found you at!”

The laugh came a little more earnestly this time.  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

 

->'v'<-

 

“Boss, you okay!?”

It was the second time Mack had asked him, but this time he couldn’t bring himself to spare his friend.  Pulling away from the wall he’d nearly skidded into, he immediately worked on getting his acceleration going, but not hard enough that he had to focus too hard on the upcoming turn.  He just couldn’t get his head in the game today.  The most _incredibly vital_ game of his life and he couldn’t get himself to make a couple of left turns.

“I..I-I don’t know Mack,” he answered, feeling a sort of resignation bubble up inside of him.  He couldn’t stop thinking about them.  About everyone.  Luigi, Guido, Sarge, Fillmore, Flo, Ramone, Sheriff.  Doc, Mater, Sally.  His _friends._ Radiator Springs.  “I can’t focus.  I can’t think.  I-I feel like I abandoned them.  I feel like I left as the same pariah I came to town as, just bringing trouble wherever I go.  And I can’t bear thinking that they all probably want nothing less than to see my face again when all I want to do is…”

He trailed off.  All he wanted to do was be assured that he hadn’t ruined everything.  That he had a place to return to.  That he would be welcomed back if he were to return.  That Sally wouldn’t hate him all over again, that Mater wouldn’t give up on being friends.  That Doc wouldn’t keep looking at him like he had been the one to ruin The Fabulous Hudson Hornet’s career once upon a time.

“I didn’t take you for the sentimental type, rookie.”

Lightning started, eyes whipping up from the track and tearing over to the pits where he saw a small crowd of people standing by the 95 box.  Two people were standing in the box, one leaning against the rail a little too far out and the other fiddling with a headset. There looked to be five or six others jumping and waving at the base of the box as he passed by.  He felt something hard and knotted in his chest relax very suddenly.

“Doc?  Is that—guys?  Y-you’re all here!”

“Well, we didn’t have much choice, Mater didn’t get to say goodbye.”

He heard a muffle of the mic followed by Mater’s distinct accent.  “ _GoodBYE!  Alright, we can leave now!”_

A laugh flooded out from him.  He was coming in for a pit stop the next time around.  It was incredibly early to do so, but he’d skipped the first pit stop anyway, preferring to burn gas until he was forced to come in back when he only had a one-man pit crew.  Pulling in, he saw Fillmore and Sarge rush forward with gas cannisters.  Fillmore wasn’t wearing any shoes, which was probably against protocol on the track, but if no one had stopped him Lightning wasn’t about to tell him off.  He looked at his friends.  Sarge, Fillmore, Luigi, Guido, Mater, and Doc were all there, looking at him with excited and fond gazes.

“You’re actually here!” he said again, fighting the urge to jump out of the car and grab them all in a hug.

“Well of course!” Luigi quickly said.  “We were not about to leave you to race without the most expert pitcrew!  Which, of course, is us.”

Guido revved his pneumatic wrench.  “Pitstop!”

“Go!” Sarge shouted as he and Fillmore jumped back from the car.

Lightning hit the gas.  The stop had lasted all of a few seconds just to refuel.  He took a deep breath, feeling better now that he knew there were people—his _friends—_ on his side.  “Okay Doc, what’s the plan?”

“We’ve got a lot of ground to make up.  For now I’ll watch from here and get a feel for your competitors.  You need to catch up with them so I’m going to leave that to you.  Find your groove and stick to it.”

The instructions were vague, but it was a plan, something to follow.  He’d always worked well just letting his instincts take over anyway and it was good to hear his crew chief not trying to order him into a different style.  Lightning took in a breath as he was leaving pit road waiting for the second he crossed the line.

“Now _go!”_

He punched the gas.  Oh yeah.  He was _winning_ this today.


	9. Finish Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lightning crosses the finish line but his story doesn't end with the checkered flag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I skipped a publishing day I'm uploading the last chapter early!

Lightning felt his heart pounding in his ears as a smile broke onto his face.  He was _ahead._ Not only was he ahead, but he was facing two of the strongest drivers in the Piston Cup, had been a whole lap down, and had managed to pull through at the very end.  This was everything he could have ever hoped it to be and more.  First place was his, he had won in one of his toughest races fairly, _Dinaco_ was his, and at the end of the day he had friends to celebrate with.  Everything— _everything_ he’d been through was all culminating into this one moment of victory.

Coming across the final turn, he heard a sharp inhale through his headset.  He smirked.  Well Doc, there’s no need to act so surprised that he’d won!  Glancing up at the display screen to watch as he approached the finish line his stomach plummeted as he realized what Doc had actually been gasping about.

There were probably a thousand things that were running through the minds of all the fans in the stands, of the medics who were likely already jumping into action, of all the people at home, and all the other racers who were watching.  But there was only one thing Lightning thought in that moment.  And it was of another racer who’d had his dreams seized from him and thrown out in a spiral of hatred only to end up in a small town where his bitterness solidified over the years.  Lightning didn’t know The King very well, had only really met him twice, but knew he could never want any of that to happen to him.

Without thinking twice, he slammed on the breaks.

It was tough, pressing down on the pedal so hard and trying to prevent himself from spinning out from it, but he had run practices like this in case he needed to stop behind a collision and managed fairly good control.  He stopped less than 5 meters from the finish line.  Barely a second later, Chick’s car rocketed by, the checkered flag waving frantically.  Somehow, the flag seemed to have lost its meaning.  It was supposed to signify the end of the race but how could he end things like this?

With that thought in mind, he made a decision and put his car into reverse.  He wasn’t quite as good at driving backwards as Mater was so he took it slow, checking the condition of The King’s car as he did so.  It was still in one piece, though the wing was barely holding on and at least two of the tires looked deflated, but at least the car was right side up.  The King hadn’t gotten out, but that could mean any number of things.

Lightning lined his window up with The King’s and peered inside.  Weathers had ditched his helmet, but there was no blood to be seen so he was probably out of immediate danger.  There was no smell of gas so the car must have held together fairly well despite how it looked.  His hands were on the steering wheel and he was leaning his forehead against it, not looking up.  His knuckles were white, but he didn’t look to be in too much pain.

“Hey, Mr. The King?  You okay?”

The racing legend looked up, a sort of resignation pushing down on his shoulders that jerked up in confusion, followed by a wince.  “Rookie…” He sagged slightly.  “I’m alive.  That’s one thing I got going for me at least.”

There was no small amount of relief that Lightning felt at being reassured.  “Think you can put the car in neutral?”

Weathers’ confusion seemed to double, but with some pained motions he managed.  “Wha…What are you doing?”

“Don’t you think The King deserves to finish his last race?  Hold on, I’m gonna see if this works.”  Lightning backed up his car.

The injured driver finally looked up to the board and saw Chick in first with Lightning’s place not yet posted.  It took a few moments for the information to put itself together in his head.  Once it did, he attempted to look back at the kid but gave up when his ribs protested painfully.  Instead, he just raised his voice to be heard.  “Did you give up the Piston Cup for me?  Why would you do that?”

Lightning couldn’t help but chuckle a little, even as he tried to focus on lining up his car behind The King’s.  A week ago, he wouldn’t have given up his first place trophy for anything in the world.  “It’s like this old guy once told me.  It’s just an empty cup.”

The nose of the Rust-Eze stock car was able to get under the Superbird’s back bumper and with the car in neutral Lightning was able to push it forward at a steady 8 mph.  The power steering apparently didn’t work anymore because he could see Weathers struggling with the wheel but between the two of them they were able to get the wreckage across the finish line.  The sound of cheers lit up the entire stadium—not a single person was sitting down silent as they crossed.  It wasn’t the cheer of earning first place, of breaking records, or putting his name in the history books, but it was the most fulfilling sound Lightning had ever heard.  Of each and every person cheering for them.

They didn’t get much further than the finish line before the medic team came driving up, hurrying to help Weathers out of the wreckage and to do a check on him.  Lightning pulled his car up next to them and got out, keeping a certain distance away to give them all some space but wanting to get the word on his condition before he just drove back to the pits.  He checked that his team was okay with waiting up for a bit and was met with a chorus of “take your time!”

After about twenty minutes of them doing several different checks and asking about pain, they gave Weathers some medication and started leading him to the medic car to bring him to the nearest hospital to get a full check.

“That’s okay,” he said, waving them off.  “I think I’ll catch a ride with Lightning if it’s all the same.”

Lightning felt no small amount of pride at that.

The medic team grumbled unhappily about it, but there was only so much they could do with their mobile unit anyway and as long as Weathers got to the hospital for a full diagnosis by the end of the day they weren’t going to be strapping him down to a gurney.  So Weathers got in Lightning’s car with him and Lightning drove them down to the sponsor tents where everyone and their mother was waiting for them.

Mrs. Weathers was the first to come running up to the car, looking simultaneously relieved and worried to see her husband climbing out of the car on his own.  After giving him a once over, as if she could tell more about his condition than the medical officers could, she pulled him into a gentle hug.  Lightning gave them their moment, watching with a smile on his face as they both were just glad to be able to hold each other once again.  When she was done, Junior quickly filled her place, making sure his father was okay.

After sending another watery look to her husband, she turned to Lightning and before he could say anything had pulled him into a hug as well.  “Thank you,” she said before drawing back again.

“Your welcome,” he answered gently and the family focused on one another.  This time felt more private so he quickly turned away, looking for where his friends were.  He spied the Rust-eze tent nearby.  His car would be fine where it was for the moment, he just wanted to regroup with everyone.  He didn’t get far though when he heard someone calling his name.  Turning, he saw Tex Dinaco jogging over from the Dinaco tent, holding his big, cowboy hat in place with his hand.

“Glad I caught you before the cameras did,” he said, shooting a look over to where the men and women with microphones were standing, unable to cross the line between them.  It looked like they were all there at the sponsor tents rather than at the winner’s circle even though the ceremony should already be going.  “Listen,” Tex let out a huff, then put his hands on his hips and chuckled, “what you did out there today?  _That_ was real racing.  I haven’t seen that kind of sportsmanship in over twenty years.  I just want to say that you should be proud of what you did today.  And let you know that I’m proud of you too.  Proud enough that I have an offer for you.”  He smiled, a wrinkly but kind expression.  “How would you like to be the new face of Dinaco?”

Lightning was shocked.  He looked over to the baby blue tent to see that anyone on the team that wasn’t watching the Weather’s reunite was watching the two of them with measured excitement.  Dinaco wanted _him._ He turned back to Tex with astonishment.  “But…I didn’t win.”

Tex just laughed.  “Son, there’s more to racing than just winning.”

The wording, the meaning behind it, reminded him of Doc.  He turned back to look at the Rust-Eze tent.  Everyone was standing in front, chatting and laughing with one another about something Lightning couldn’t overhear.  Rusty and Dusty had seemingly already charmed the majority of the Radiator Springs folk as they said something and everyone laughed in response.  Luigi and Guido were rushing around the tent, finding tools and either excitedly showing one another what they found or searching for something to test them on.  Sarge and Fillmore were talking with an interviewer who had snuck past the barrier, seeming completely composed and at ease in front of the camera despite how they were clearly disagreeing with one another again.  Mater snort-laughed with the Rust-Eze guys and Mack.  Doc chuffed with everyone else before his gaze moved over and Lightning locked eyes with him for a moment.  His new crew chief gestured for him to come join them.

Lightning couldn’t help but grin at the sight.  “Thank you, Mr. Dinaco, but…I think I want to stick with the Rust-Eze team for a little longer, if that’s okay.”

Tex smiled fondly and nodded.  “You’ve got a good set of people on your side.  I don’t blame you for wanting to stand by them.  But the offer stands.  You’re a good racer and I think we could both benefit from you joining my team.  In the meantime, if there’s anything I can do for you, you just name it.  I figure I have a lot to pay you back for after everything you’ve done for us today.”

Taking his eyes off his friends, Lightning looked back at Tex to nod in appreciation.  “Thank you, sir, really.”  He paused, a thought coming back to him that he’d almost forgotten about before a grin stretched across his face.  “There is _one_ thing that I can think of that I’d like some help with.  That is, if you don’t mind?”

Chuckling, Tex raised a bushy eyebrow.  “You name it, son.”

 

->'v'<-

 

“Dag- _un_ ya’ll would _not believe_ how much fun that there heli-copter ride was!”

Mater had walked into Flo’s diner half an hour ago and had not shut up about his incredible ride in the helicopter ever since.  Everyone was there that night, well, almost everyone.  A good majority of the town had gotten together earlier that evening at the community center for a democratic vote of whether to allow the Rust-Eze Racing Co. to build their racing headquarters for 95 in their town.  All the shop owners who weren’t too busy to attend had come by for the short amount of time it took Doc to lay out what all that entailed followed by a quick, nearly unanimous vote to allow it.  Lightning, thrilled that his residency had more or less become permanent with the verdict, had said the first round of milkshakes at Flo’s was on him.

He was buying a lot of milkshakes that night, but he didn’t much mind.  Flo was busy, but just enough that she kept a real smile on her face every time she got up to attend to the other customers in the diner.  She had been sighing all week about how she would have to go about hiring a few waiters or waitresses if business continued picking up as it had been.  Although everyone could tell behind the gentle pout she was absolutely brimming with happiness.

Everyone had been getting more business in the last week than they had in the past year.  Apparently, Radiator Springs was the place to be for any and all kinds of racing fans.  After the string of attention that Lightning had gathered leading up to and during the Piston Cup finals people were curious about the little town the racer’s pit crew had popped out from.  Not to mention all the Hudson Hornet fans who just would _not_ leave town until they’d caught a candid photo of the legend himself.  Thus far everyone who was visiting had been from within the state aside from some diehard fans, but the crowd flow was expected to pick up over time.  Especially with the racing headquarters going into its construction phase.

Rusty, Dusty, and Mack were all there for the next couple days as well, mostly to set a few things in motion for the headquarters, but were at the moment entertaining the Radiator Springs lot.  The Rust-Eze brothers had taken to Lizzie rather quickly as the three of them could each separately talk the ear off an elephant.  When Mater had gotten back from his flight around the county, the four had sat themselves down at their own table in the center of everything, switching between telling long-winded stories and interjecting into the conversations of those around them.  The four were so energetic and happy to talk to everyone that their chatter was as warm and constant as the neon lights that streamed in through the windows from the street.

Mack was getting along really well with Red, Sarge, and Fillmore as each traded stories about their incredibly different yet thorough lives.  Lightning was learning more about Mack just by listening into their conversation than he had ever known about the guy.  He never would have guessed the big trucker had been a voice actor once upon a time.  Sarge and Fillmore each had a plethora of stories having to do with some such war and some such spiritual gathering, respectfully.  It seemed like they were trying to outdo each other as each story got wilder than the last.  Red nostalgically recalled some tales from when he had been going through firefighter training and how he’d worked in Austin, Texas for a time before deciding that work in a large city with a big team just wasn’t comfortable for him.

Lightning had been zoning in and out of all these conversations, happy to just listen in for once rather than lead the discussion.  His arm was around Sally’s shoulders as she leaned into him, sipping on a chocolate milkshake she had one-hundred percent stolen from him after she’d finished the strawberry one she’d started with.  She had offered him a peck on the cheek as payment but he could not scrub the feeling of betrayal he had.  Sally could kiss him all she wanted; the loss of that milkshake would leave a hole in his heart forever.

His attention lazily drifted back to his own table’s conversation when Doc clicked his tongue and Sheriff laughed at the other man’s annoyed expression.

“You didn’t actually think I had _no clue_ did you?” Sheriff said, the ends of his mustache tipped with the pink of his own strawberry milkshake.

Doc grumbled.  He had gotten coffee instead of a milkshake because he was a snub.  “Figured that if anyone recognized me that they’d mention it when I first got here.”

Sheriff shrugged.  “Thought if you wanted someone to notice then you woulda gone around wearing a patched up jacket like the kid here.  Or maybe driving that car around that you apparently still have?”

He was met with another grunt and the gathered company chuckled.  “Didn’t think anyone here was all that interested in racing.  ‘Sides Luigi and Guido.”

Luigi, for his part, sniffed a little, as if still put out about the fact that he had not realized that their mayor was a racer, let alone a legend.  “I do not follow the American circuit!  The European circuit has much more finesse, bah!”

“Lo sapevo!” Guido said, grinning happily.

His friend gasped dramatically.  “You did not!”

“L’ho fatto!”

“Why did you not tell me!?”

“Non hai mai chiesto!”

Ramone chuckled.  “How do you two do that?  Talk in two different languages like it’s the same thing?”

“Bah!” Luigi said, although he puffed up proudly.  “Being bilingual is a chore when there is only one other person who can speak both your languages!  Guido speaks Italian so I don’t forget and I speak English so he doesn’t forget.”

“Easy peasy!” Guido piped up and as always it was a bit startling to hear him speak English.

“I guess that makes sense,” Lightning conceded before attempting to capture the straw to Sally’s milkshake with his teeth.

She pulled it away from him.  “Get your own!”

He could see the teasing look in her eyes and scowled playfully.  “I _did_ and some little _valley girl_ stole it from me!”

The laughter distracted her enough that he could finally steal a sip again.  Victory!  Lightning McQueen has won the Chocolate Cup!

“Speaking of the American Circuit,” Doc said, bringing the conversation back around, “we’ve got some time until the racing for the Piston Cup starts up again.  I figure that we can use a bit of that time to get some training in for your pit crew.  We pulled it together in that last race, but things are just going to get tougher from here on out.”

Ever since Doc had come out about his origins and had been accepted by the town all over again he couldn’t seem to stop talking about racing.  It was either _this_ about getting on the track and doing laps or _that_ about exactly how many miles it was away to the closest speedway.  It was _this_ about how his experience as a racer perfectly folded into his new career as a crew chief or _that_ about how Lightning had big shoes to fill.  It was nice to see the regularly crotchety guy go on about the subject and all the plans he had for the future, but for once Lightning almost wished they wouldn’t talk about racing and could just enjoy the night.

…

Hah, as if!  He’d always be happy to talk about racing.

“I bet Sarge would love a couple of drills to run,” he said with a chuckle, looking over to the table as if to ask them what they thought.

“You’d be part of the training too, hotshot.”

He sat up a little straighter.  “What?  Seriously?  Why would I need to be there?”

Ramone laughed outright but Doc snorted, looking thoroughly amused at having riled the rookie up.  No, not rookie anymore.  “There’s a lot more to having a pit stop done than just sitting around and waiting for everyone to do their jobs.  You gotta listen to the folks around you, gotta learn to trust them, let them be your eyes and trust ‘em to look out for you just as much as you’re looking out for yourself.”

Brows furrowing, Lightning thought that over.  He had made leaps and bounds with genuine social interactions in the last couple of weeks but he wasn’t sure he was quite ready for that kind of level yet.  “I dunno…”

“C’mon Patches,” Sally said, leaning up so she could kiss his chin and halt any kind of thought process he’d had.  “It’s not so bad to trust someone now and then.  Unless you don’t think you can handle a little bit of _training._ ”

What had seemed like a nervous idea just a moment ago had turned into a challenge in only a few words.  Oof.  This woman was dangerous.  “I’m up for anything you can throw at me, old man.”

“You got it, kiddo,” he shot back.

“McQueen!” Mater said, suddenly leaning over their booth so that his face was hovering an inch away from Lightning’s.

The racer leaned back, if only so that the smell of root beer float wasn’t being blown into his face with every word from his best friend.  “Yeah, buddy?”

“Boy, next time you’s gotta come wit me on that heli-copter!  It was so much _fun!”_

“You know, I’m more of a four-wheels on the ground kinda guy.”

“We could go _parachooting!”_

“Or, you know, not do that?”

“ _Skydiving!”_

“I think if you’re jumping out of a helicopter you’ve gotta do both at some point.”

“ _Bungee jumping!”_

“Are we still talking about a helicopter or is this something else?”

Sally piped up, “I think that sounds like a great idea!”

“Which one?” Mater asked, practically buzzing with excitement.

“All of them!”

Lightning angled his neck so he could look down at her dubiously.  “Most girls want to see their boyfriends live.”

She equally met his gaze with one of cool amusement.  “I do.  I want to see you _live it up.”_

He felt like slapping his forehead but couldn’t quite manage it while also holding onto what had become a staring contest.  “I could die.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh?”

“If you did I might just have to go to the European Circuit to find my new boyfriend.  Mmm, a drive around the Italian coast in a Ferrari?  Sign me up.”  He scowled, losing the staring contest at the same time.  She laughed and tugged on his jacket sleeve where the bolt was sewn in.  “See?  You wouldn’t leave me to some European racer, would you?”

“Good point.”

“It’s decided then!” Mater hollered, jumping away excitedly.

“Which one!?” Lightning called back, but the other man was already hurrying back to Rusty and Dusty to relay his plans.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sally said, tugging on his jacket once more before snuggling into his chest.  “I’m sure he’ll tell you before it happens.”

“Hopefully not _when_ it’s happening.”

Sheriff and Doc were talking about the possibility of re-opening the old drive-in movie theater that had been set up between two of the buttes years and years ago.  Mater was attempting to convince Rusty and Dusty to go bungee-diving-parachuting out of a helicopter and the two seemed worryingly interested in the idea.  Lizzie had turned around in her seat and had enraptured Red and Mack about the story of how she’d left New York as a young lady and made her way across the country on her own before meeting Stanley and settling down in Radiator Springs.  Sarge was informing Fillmore that _no_ he had no idea if gmo was a government conspiracy and _no_ he didn’t want to find out.  Luigi was explaining to Ramone that just because the artist knew how to use a air-pressurized spray gun did not mean he was qualified to give a car a paint job.Flo hopped back over, handing out a couple baskets of fries that had been made up for eager friends and family before sliding a new chocolate milkshake over to Lightning, who snatched it up before his girlfriend could steal that one too.  She raised an eyebrow at him before turning away with a huff to chat with Flo as she slid into the booth with them.

Lightning leaned his cheek against the top of Sally’s head with a sigh, just drinking in the sound and the scenery for the moment.  His friends were all around him, talking about the future or the past and everything in between.  His childhood idol was sitting across the table from him, shining more brightly than any of those dusty trophies in his garage ever could.  The girl of his dreams snaked her hand beneath the table so she could wind her fingers with his and squeeze his hand just slightly.

He smiled.  It was good to be home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this far! You've made it to the finish line!
> 
> This was so fun for me to write. It's honestly the first time I finished doing one of these kinds of writings and I'm so glad that I got it done and am happy with the way it turned out. I hope that you all had as much fun reading it as I had writing it.
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos and support you've given me during my writing process! Love you guys!

**Author's Note:**

> I have a shocking amount written out for this already. I think I'm going to finish everything I have planned pretty quickly but I'm not doing a play by play of every scene in the movie, just my favorite ones/story defining ones.  
> I started with this chapter because I figured there's no substantial change to the beginning that I needed to iterate. Rust-eze is still for bumper ointment. There's still a three way tie. Lightning is still a massive jerk to anybody who doesn't either have a pretty face or social standing.  
> ...  
> And I might not know anything about racing.  
> OKay, bye, hope you enjoy!


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